[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 89 (Wednesday, July 8, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7681-S7682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GRAHAM (for himself and Mr. Coverdell):
  S. 2278. A bill to exclude veterans' educational benefits from being 
considered a resource in the computation of financial aid; to the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs.


          veterans educational benefits protection act of 1998

  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about an issue which 
is of vital importance to our nation's brave veterans and their 
families.
  The Montgomery GI bill, which was made permanent on June 1, 1987, 
guarantees basic educational assistance for most persons who are, or 
have been, members of the Armed Forces or the Selected Reserve for 
significant periods of time.
  The Montgomery GI bill was created to help veterans in their 
readjustment to civilian life, to aid in recruitment and retention of 
qualified personnel in the Armed Forces, and to develop a more highly 
educated and productive work force.
  Currently, Montgomery GI benefits are considered ``other financial 
aid'' in the determination of need.
  In other words, when a veteran applies for financial aid, colleges 
and universities are required to consider veterans' educational 
benefits as a resource when computing the financial award.
  The ultimate result is that the total financial aid award is reduced.
  This penalty does not exist for other Americans who serve our 
country.
  The National Community Service Act of 1990 decrees that a national 
service educational award or post-service benefit shall not be treated 
as financial assistance.
  Mr. President, this inequity is an affront to the many veterans who 
have sacrificed to defend our nation from harm.
  Today, I am introducing the Veterans Educational Benefits Protection 
Act of 1998 to prevent GI bill benefits from being considered a 
resource in the computation of financial aid.
  Let me read to you from a letter that I received from a Florida 
veteran. He writes:

       I do not think that VA education benefits should be 
     calculated into the financial aid equation for two reasons.
       First, I paid for the Montgomery GI Bill, albeit only 
     $1200, but more so with a sacrifice of time serving my 
     country.
       I previously paid for these benefits and am currently being 
     penalized for that through financial aid . . . I did not 
     qualify for any type of federal educational grant this year 
     in part because my veterans benefits were counted as 
     financial aid in my package.

  It's ironic, Mr. President.
  We created the Montgomery GI bill to reward veterans for their 
dedication to the defense of our liberties.
  They earn its benefits through years of service and help to finance 
them through paycheck deduction.
  But current law unfairly penalizes the 94 percent of veterans who 
sign up for the program and the 40 percent who actually use the 
benefits to which they are entitled.
  Our bill will revoke this self-defeating approach and restore common 
sense to this important veterans educational program.
  If it is enacted, Montgomery GI bill benefits will no longer be 
treated as other financial assistance for purposes of the need analysis 
formula.
  This is a critical change.
  It is well-known and well-documented that education has a dramatic 
impact on earning potential and employment success.
  Employees with a college education are more likely to earn higher 
salaries--and less likely to become unemployed--than those workers who 
did not advance beyond high school.

[[Page S7682]]

  Even worse, failure to enact this legislation will harm our efforts 
to attract our best and brightest young people to the armed services.
  The Department of Defense has identified the Montgomery GI bill as 
its best available recruitment tool.
  Mr. President, just over fifty years ago, in 1945, tens of thousands 
of American servicemen returned home from defeating totalitarian 
aggression around the globe.
  Because Congress had enacted the original GI bill a year earlier, 
they arrived with the assurance that the federal government would 
reward their brave defense of freedom and heroic sacrifice with a 
chance for a better life.
  When Congress passed that first GI bill, it made a covenant with the 
men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our cherished 
freedom and democracy.
  By making it more difficult for veterans to finance higher education 
once they leave the armed services, current law has undermined that 
compact.
  I am confident that the Veterans Education Benefits Protection Act 
will help us reaffirm our commitment to these courageous Americans, and 
give veterans access to the higher education that they so richly 
deserve.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2278

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans' Educational 
     Benefits Protection Act of 1998''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Having served their country with honor, veterans of the 
     Armed Forces deserve the Nation's gratitude and support.
       (2) Recognizing that education is a key element of economic 
     success and reintegration into civilian life, Congress has 
     for more than 50 years provided aid to veterans seeking 
     postsecondary education.
       (3) The escalating costs of postsecondary education make 
     veterans more dependent than ever on veterans' educational 
     benefits.
       (4) Recipients of veterans' educational benefits should not 
     be disadvantaged with respect to any other recipients of 
     Federal educational aid programs.

     SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF VETERANS' EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS.

       Section 480(j)(3) (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(j)(3)) is amended by 
     inserting after ``paragraph (1),'' the following: ``a post-
     service benefit under chapter 30 of title 38, United States 
     Code, or''.

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