By Murray Light

On June 30, President Bush signed into law the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008 in spite of previous refusals to do so. This came about because of an agreement between congressional leaders and the president to impose no restrictions on war funding for Iraq and Afghanistan into mid-2009 in exchange for the new GI Bill.

The original GI Bill of Rights was created in June 1944 when President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. It was designed to help educate and train military veterans returning from World War II. The Department of Veterans Affairs says that 7.8 million of 16 million troops who served in that war received educational or vocational training under the GI Bill.

Before Bush signed the new bill, GI benefits covered only about half of the national average cost of college, including tuition, room and board. The average maximum for honorably discharged service members was $1,100 a month for 36 months of service and for reservists and National Guardsmen -- and there are many in those categories who served -- the average was only about $440 a month.

Complaints of veterans who served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan were numerous, saying that current benefits for the most part did not cover the costs of even those for community colleges. Sen. Jim Web, D-Va., introduced legislation to dramatically expand educational benefits, and a version of his bill in the House of Representatives had 241 co-sponsors. This measure was to cover the cost of even the most expensive public in-state universities and a monthly housing stipend. Those who served on active duty for three months or more after Sept. 11, 2001, would be eligible for a prorated amount.

For private colleges, the bill would match private schools' contributions over the course of four academic years. The costs of his measure were estimated at $2 billion. However, even if approved by both houses of Congress, it would never have become law because Bush said he would veto it.

The benefits in force before June 30 covered just about half of college costs of tuition and room and board. Many veterans felt they were misled about education benefits by military recruiters. Some, such as Najwa McQueen, said she joined the Louisiana National Guard because she thought she had a promise to pay for her college education.

"They kind of sell you a dream," she said after a rally at Capitol Hill in April, as reported on CNN. McQueen left her 18-month-old-daughter and her husband behind and served 10 months in Iraq. When she enrolled in college after her service, her total benefits from the GI Bill were $400 for four months. Her classes cost $1,000 each and her total benefits were only $1,600.

Under the Webb legislation, co-sponsored by Sens. John Warner, R-Va., and Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, GI benefits were raised to a level similar to those received by World War II veterans. The maximum benefit will cover four years at an in-state public university (about $1,900 a month) instead of the existing provision of $1,100 a month. Servicemen and women who enlisted after Sept. 11 and served three years' active duty will be entitled to the tuition payments plus stipends for books and housing. These benefits may be transferred to their spouses or their dependents, a provision that was not in the World War II bill.

This obviously does not solve every GI's education problem -- such as that of McQueen, who had only 10 months of active duty -- but it is the very least we can do for the enormous sacrifices of our fighting men and women.

Murray B. Light is the former editor of The Buffalo News.