III 112th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 334 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES November 18, 2011 Mr. Menendez submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Designating the week of November 6 through November 12, 2012, as “Veterans’ Education Awareness Week.”

Whereas brave men and women throughout the history of the United States have served with honor in the United States Armed Forces; Whereas since President Franklin Roosevelt signed the first GI Bill, the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 284, chapter 268), the Federal Government has provided Federal aid to help veterans readjust to civilian life, including financial assistance for tuition, books, and supplies, and other fees for education; Whereas by the time the first GI Bill expired on July 25, 1956, approximately 7,800,000 of the 16,000,000 World War II veterans had participated in an education or training program by using benefits provided through the GI Bill; Whereas recognizing the educational needs for a new generation of veterans, Congress passed and President Bush signed the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (38 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.) to provide educational benefits for veterans who have served in the United States Armed Forces since September 11, 2001; Whereas the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 provides educational benefits for veterans, including active duty Army National Guard and Army Reserve members that significantly reduce the cost of attending college; Whereas according the Census Bureau, employees with an associate degree earn 26.3 percent more than employees with only a high school diploma and employees with a bachelor degree earn 87.4 percent more than employees with only a high school diploma; Whereas making postsecondary education and job training available is critical to creating access to opportunity in the economy of the 21st century; Whereas the lack of awareness of available educational benefits, or how to attain them, can deter veterans from seeking postsecondary education; Whereas according to a survey conducted by the American Council on Education during the first year after the date of enactment of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, 38 percent of survey respondents reported having difficulty understanding and choosing the best education benefits for their needs; and Whereas Veterans’ Education Awareness Week is an appropriate time to make veterans across the United States aware of the valuable information that they can access through organizations such as Operation College Promise, which provides ongoing updates on transitional assistance for military-affiliated students: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate designates the week of November 6 through November 12, 2012, as Veterans’ Education Awareness Week to raise public awareness about— (1)the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008; (2)the educational benefits to which veterans are entitled; and (3)the resources available to help veterans maximize educational benefits under the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008.