|
Washington, DC – The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel and the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity will hold a joint hearing on the Montgomery G.I. Bill (MGIB) for members of the Active duty military and the Selected Reserves. The hearing will be held Wednesday, September 27 at 10:00 am in room 2118 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Members of the Guard and Reserve components of our Armed Forces continue to make an essential contribution to support our missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere around the world. Although Reservists are being called to duty and mobilized for an average of 18 months, when they leave the Selected Reserves they do not receive the same educational benefits as the active duty soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that they serve alongside. Additionally, MGIB benefits for Reserve members have not kept up with the increases in the MGIB for Active duty. The current MGIB-SR benefit is only 29 percent of the MGIB; historically the difference has been 47 percent.
Many argue that the MGIB benefits for active duty forces have not kept up with rising education costs. The last MGIB rate increase was in 2003. The average tuition and fees for a four-year public college went up 7.1 percent from 2005-2006. The Montgomery GI Bill is very popular among Active duty military personnel, but if the program cannot keep up with the rising cost of college, it may not be as effective a recruiting and retention tool as it was intended to be.
Objectives of the hearing include discussing the effectiveness, cost, and benefit level of active duty and reserve G.I. Bills, examining proposals to restore the historic balance between the reserve and active duty programs by increasing the level of benefit payments to reserve members, extending eligibility beyond active participation, and integrating the MGIB-SR and the Reserve Education Assistance Program into a comprehensive Total Force G.I. Bill.
“We want to fix what is, essentially, different pay for the same duty,” Congressman John Boozman said. “We need to end this practice and honor the sacrifice of our servicemembers protecting our freedoms abroad as well as the sacrifice of their families back home. The contribution from our reservists and Guard members is the equivalent of those of our regular military and we need to reward these citizen-soldiers as we do their active-duty counterparts.”
“Nearly every unit in the Arkansas Army National Guard and many Arkansans who serve in the Air National Guard, Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Navy Reserve and Marine Reserve have been mobilized to support our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan at least once,” said Congressman Vic Snyder. “It is time for Congress to seriously discuss the disparity in benefits between active duty and Reserve component members.”
“More than 500,000 members of the National Guard and Reserve, including more than 8,000 Arkansans, have been called upon for duty since the tragic events of September 11,” Senator Blanche Lincoln said. “These citizen soldiers have served with distinction in a hostile environment to defend the freedoms we cherish as Americans. As their families and communities welcome them home with open arms, our nation should do the same by ensuring they receive the benefits they’ve earned.”
Congressman John Boozman is chairman of the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee and Congressman Vic Snyder is ranking member of the Military Personnel Subcommittee. Senator Blanche Lincoln will serve as the opening witness and will discuss a provision she offered that would allow certain reserve members to retain their educational benefit when they leave service. The House and Senate Armed Services Committees are currently considering the proposal in conference.
- END -
|
