[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 45 (Tuesday, April 11, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2544-S2545]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CLELAND:
  S. 2402. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance and 
improve educational assistance under the Montgomery GI bill in order to 
enhance recruitment and retention of members of the Armed Forces, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.


       helping our professionals educationally (hope) act of 2000

  Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, I come before you today to introduce 
legislation that addresses the educational needs of our men and women 
in uniform and their families. I call this measure the HOPE Act of 
2000: HOPE, Helping Our Professionals Educationally--that is, our 
military professionals.
  The great Stephen Ambrose, the marvelous historian of World War II, 
the author of ``D-Day'' and other books, has said the GI bill is the 
single best piece of legislation ever passed by the Federal Government.
  Last year, Time magazine named the American GI as the Person of the 
Century--how appropriate. That alone is a powerful statement about the 
high value of our military personnel. They are recognized around the 
world for their dedication and commitment to fight for our country and 
for peace in the world. This past century has been the most violent one 
in modern memory. The American GI has fought in the trenches during the 
first World War, the beaches at Normandy, in the hills of Korea, in the 
jungles of Vietnam, in the deserts of the Persian Gulf, and most 
recently in the valleys of the Balkans.
  During that period, the face of our military and the people who fight 
our wars has changed dramatically. The traditional image of the single, 
mostly male, drafted, and ``disposable'' soldier is now gone. Today we 
are fielding the force for the 21st century. This new force is a 
volunteer force, filled with men and women who are highly skilled, 
married, and definitely not disposable. Gone are the days when quality 
of life for a GI meant a beer in the barracks and a 3-day pass. Now, we 
know we have to recruit a soldier but retain a family.
  We have won the cold war. This victory has further changed the world 
and our military. The new world order has given way to a new world 
disorder. United States is responding to crises around the globe--
whether it be strategic bombing or humanitarian assistance--and our 
military is often seen as our most effective response and our best 
ambassadors. In order to meet these challenges, we are retooling our 
forces to be lighter, leaner, and meaner. This is a positive move. 
Along with this lighter force, our military professionals must be 
highly educated and highly trained.
  Our Nation is currently experiencing the longest continuous peacetime 
economic growth in our history. This economic expansion has been a boon 
for our country. However, there has been a downside to this growing 
economy insofar as our Armed Forces are concerned. With the enticement 
of quick prosperity in the civilian sector it is more difficult than 
ever to recruit and retain our highly skilled forces.
  In fiscal year 1999, the Army missed it recruiting goals by 6291 
recruits, while the Air Force missed its goal by 1,732 recruits. Pilot 
retention problems persist for all services; for fiscal year 1999 the 
Air Force ended up 1,200 pilots short and the Navy ended 500 pilots 
short. We have other problems. The Army is having problems retaining 
captains, while the Navy faces manning challenges for surface warfare 
officers and special warfare officers. It is estimated that $6 million 
is spent to train a pilot. We as a nation cannot afford to continually 
train our people, only to lose them to the private sector. It is 
unarguably far better to retain than retrain.
  There is hope that we are now beginning to address these challenges. 
Last year was a momentous one for our military personnel. The Senate 
passed legislation that significantly enhances the quality of life for 
our military personnel. I am the Ranking Democrat on the Armed Service, 
Committee. The Senate, with my vote and support, passed legislation 
that significantly enhances the quality of life for our military 
personnel from retirement reform to pay raises. This Congress is on 
record supporting our men and women in uniform. However, more must be 
done.
  In talking with our military personnel on my visits to the military 
bases in Georgia and around the world, we know that money alone is not 
enough. One of the things I would like to do is focus on education as a 
wonderful addition to the positive incentives we offer people to come 
into the military and stay in the military. Education, as a matter of 
fact, is the No. 1 reason service members come into the military. 
Unfortunately it is also the No. 1 reason why its members are leaving. 
We have to restructure our educational program in the military. We have 
to have a new GI bill. We have to provide hope to our military people, 
hope that the military can become the greatest university they will 
ever encounter.
  Last year the Senate began to address this issue by supporting 
improved education benefits for military members and their families but 
we encountered some concerns in the House. Since last year, we have 
gone back and studied this issue further. In reviewing the current 
Montgomery GI bill--named after the wonderful Representative from 
Mississippi, Congressman Sonny Montgomery--we found several 
disincentives and conflicts among the education benefits offered by the 
services. These conflicts make the GI bill, which is actually an earned 
benefit, less attractive than it could be.
  My legislation will improve and enhance the current educational 
benefits and create the GI bill for the 21st century.
  One of the most important provisions of my legislation would give the 
Service Secretaries the ability to authorize a service member to 
transfer his or her basic MGIB benefits, educationally, to family 
members. Many service members tell us that they really want to stay in 
the service, but do not feel that they can stay and provide an 
education for their families. This proposed change will give them an 
opportunity to stay in the service and still provide an education for 
their spouses and children. It will give the Service Secretaries a very 
powerful retention tool by allowing them to authorize transfer of basic 
GI bill benefits, that are earned through the service of the service 
man or woman, anytime after 6 years of service.
  To encourage members to stay longer, the transferred benefits could 
not be used until completion of at least 10 years of service. I believe 
that the services can use this much like a reenlistment bonus to retain 
valuable service members. It can be creatively combined with 
reenlistment bonuses to create a very powerful and cost effective 
incentive for highly skilled military personnel to stay in the Service. 
In talking with service members upon their departure from the military, 
we have found that family considerations play a crucial role in the 
decision of a member to continue their military career.
  I found in discussions with military families and service members 
that at the 8- to 10- to 12-year mark when young service members are 
beginning to make a choice about whether to stay in the military, that 
choice is driven not so much by their own choice to serve the country--
obviously they want to serve the country and stay in the military--that 
choice is more and more driven by family needs, whether their spouse is 
employed or whether their spouse would like to gain an extra degree or 
whether they need to create a college fund for their kids.
  Reality dictates that we must address the needs of the family in 
order to retain our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines.
  My legislation would also give the Secretaries the authority to 
authorize the Veterans' Educational Assistance Program, known as VEAP. 
Those

[[Page S2545]]

VEAP participants and those active duty personnel who did not enroll in 
Montgomery GI bill to participate in the current GI bill program. The 
VEAP participants would contribute $1,200, and those who did not enroll 
in the Montgomery GI bill would contribute $1,500. The services would 
pay any additional costs of the benefits of this measure.
  Another enhancement made by my proposal to the current GI bill 
extends the period in which the members of Reserve Components can 
utilize the program. I was shocked to find out that currently, Reserve 
members lose their education benefits when they leave the service or 
after 10 years of service. Amazing, they have no benefits when they 
leave service. My legislation will permit them to use the benefits up 
to 5 years after their separation from the military. This will 
encourage them to stay in the Reserves for a full career.
  It is obvious we are calling upon our reservists and our guards men 
and women more and more to fulfill our commitments around the globe. 
This will, I think, fulfill this Nation's commitment, certainly to our 
reservists, for an improvement in their educational opportunities.
  Other provisions of this legislation would allow the Service 
Secretaries to pay 100 percent tuition assistance or enable service 
members to use the GI bill to cover any unpaid tuition and expenses 
when the services do not pay 100 percent of tuition.
  This will allow a service member an additional incentive to use the 
GI bill in service. Education begets education.
  I believe this is a necessary next step for improving education 
benefits for our military members and their families. We have to offer 
them credible choices. If we offer them such options and treat the 
members and their families properly, we will show them our respect for 
their service and dedication, which they expect. Maybe then we can turn 
around our current sad retention statistics. This GI bill is an 
important retention tool for the services.
  We must continue to focus our resources on retaining our personnel 
based on their actual life needs, particularly their need for an 
educational opportunity. This bill gives them hope.

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