[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 47 (Thursday, April 13, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2732-S2734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. JOHNSON (for himself and Ms. Collins):
  S. 2419. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for 
the annual determination of the rate of the basic benefit of active 
duty educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.


              VETERANS' HIGHER EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES ACT

  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Veterans 
Higher Education Opportunities Act. I am pleased to be joined by the 
distinguished Senator Collins of Maine in bringing this important issue 
to the Senate floor today.
  The 1944 GI Bill of Rights is one of the most important pieces of 
legislation ever passed by Congress. No program has been more 
successful in increasing educational opportunities for our country's 
veterans while also providing a valuable incentive for the best and 
brightest to make a career out of military service. This bill has 
allowed eight million veterans to finish high school and 2.3 million 
service members to attend college.

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  Unfortunately, without this update the current GI Bill can no longer 
deliver these results and fails in its promise to recruits and service 
members. The legislation that Senator Collins and I are introducing 
today will take an important first step in modernizing the GI Bill.
  Over 96% of recruits currently sign up for the Montgomery GI Bill and 
pay $1,200 out of their first year's pay to guarantee eligibility. But 
only one-half of these military personnel use any of the current 
Montgomery GI Bill benefits. This is evidence that the current GI Bill 
simply does not meet their needs.
  GI Bill benefits have not kept pace with increased costs of 
education. During the 1995-96 school year, the basic benefit paid under 
the Montgomery GI Bill offset only 36% of average total education 
costs.
  There is wide consensus among national higher education and veterans 
associations that at a minimum, the GI Bill should pay the costs of 
attending the average four-year public institution as a commuter 
student. The current Montgomery GI Bill benefit pays only 55% of that 
cost.
  My legislation creates that benchmark by indexing the GI Bill to the 
costs of attending the average four-year public institution as a 
commuter student. For example, those costs for the 1999-2000 academic 
year were $8,774. The Veterans Higher Education Opportunities Act would 
thereby require 36 monthly stipends of $975 for a total GI Bill benefit 
of $35,100. This benchmark cost will be updated annually by the College 
Board in order for the GI Bill to keep pace.
  I am pleased that my legislation has the bipartisan support of 
Senator Collins and the overwhelming support of the Partnership for 
Veterans' Education. This organization includes over 45 veterans groups 
and higher education organizations including the VFW, the American 
Council on Education, the Non Commissioned Officers Association, the 
National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, and 
The Retired Enlisted Association.
  Several proposals have been introduced in the House that would 
address the shortfalls of the current GI Bill, and I look forward to 
working with members of the House and my colleagues in the Senate on 
this important issue.
  As the parent of a son who served as a peacekeeper in Bosnia and who 
is currently deployed in Kosovo, these military ``quality of life'' 
challenges are particularly apparent to me. Making the GI Bill pay for 
viable educational opportunity makes as much sense today as it did 
following World War II. The very modest cost of improving the GI Bill 
will result in net gains to our military and our society.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the legislation be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2419

       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' Higher Education 
     Opportunities Act of 2000''.

     SEC. 2. ANNUAL DETERMINATION OF BASIC BENEFIT OF ACTIVE DUTY 
                   EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE UNDER THE MONTGOMERY GI 
                   BILL.

       (a) Basic Benefit.--Section 3015 of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``of $528 (as 
     increased from time to time under subsection (g))'' and 
     inserting ``equal to the average monthly costs of tuition and 
     expenses for commuter students at public institutions of 
     higher education that award baccalaureate degrees (as 
     determined under subsection (g))''; and
       (2) in subsection (b)(1) by striking ``of $429 (as 
     increased from time to time under subsection (g))'' and 
     inserting ``equal to 75 percent of the average monthly costs 
     of tuition and expenses for commuter students at public 
     institutions of higher education that award baccalaureate 
     degrees (as determined under subsection (g))''.
       (b) Determination of Average Monthly Costs.--Subsection (g) 
     of that section is amended to read as follows:
       ``(g)(1) Not later than September 30 each year, the 
     Secretary shall determine the average monthly costs of 
     tuition and expenses for commuter students at public 
     institutions of higher education that award baccalaureate 
     degrees for purposes of subsections (a)(1) and (b)(1) for the 
     succeeding fiscal year. The Secretary shall determine such 
     costs utilizing information obtained from the College Board 
     or information provided annually by the College Board in its 
     annual survey of institutions of higher education.
       ``(2) In determining the costs of tuition and expenses 
     under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall take into account 
     the following:
       ``(A) Tuition and fees.
       ``(B) The cost of books and supplies.
       ``(C) The cost of board.
       ``(D) Transportation costs.
       ``(E) Other nonfixed educational expenses.
       ``(3) A determination made under paragraph (1) in a year 
     shall take effect on October 1 of that year and apply with 
     respect to basic educational assistance allowances payable 
     under this section for the fiscal year beginning in that 
     year.
       ``(4) Not later than September 30 each year, the Secretary 
     shall publish in the Federal Register the average monthly 
     costs of tuition and expenses as determined under paragraph 
     (1) in that year.
       ``(5) For purposes of this section, the term `institution 
     of higher education' has the meaning given that term in 
     section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     1001).''.
       (c) Stylistic Amendment.--Subsection (b) of that section is 
     further amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by 
     striking ``as provided in the succeeding subsections of this 
     section'' and inserting ``as otherwise provided in this 
     section''.
       (d) Effective Date.--(1) Except as provided in paragraph 
     (2), the amendments made by this section shall take effect on 
     October 1, 2000.
       (2) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall make the 
     determination required by subsection (g) of section 3015 of 
     title 38, United States Code (as amended by subsection (b) of 
     this section), and such determination shall go into effect, 
     for fiscal year 2001.

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I am delighted to join with my friend and 
colleague, Senator Johnson, in introducing the Veterans' Higher 
Education Opportunities Act of 2000. This legislation will provide our 
veterans with expanded educational opportunities at a reasonable cost. 
Endorsed by the 47-member Partnership for Veterans Education, our 
legislation provides a new model for today's GI bill that is logical, 
fair, and worthy of a nation that values both higher education and our 
veterans.
  The original GI bill was enacted in 1944. As a result of this 
initiative, 7.8 million World War II veterans were able to take 
advantage of postservice education and training opportunities, 
including more than 2 million veterans who went on to college. My own 
father was among those veterans who served bravely in World War II and 
then came back home to resume his education with assistance from the GI 
bill.
  Since that time, various incarnations of the G.I. Bill have continued 
to assist millions of veterans in taking advantage of the educational 
opportunities they put on hold in order to serve their country. New 
laws were enacted to provide educational assistance to those who served 
in Korea and Vietnam, as well as to those who served during the period 
in-between. Since the change to an all-volunteer service, additional 
adjustments to these programs were made, leading up to the enactment of 
the Montgomery G.I. Bill in 1985.
  The value of the educational benefit assistance provided by the 
Montgomery G.I. Bill, however, has greatly eroded over time due to 
inflation and the escalating cost of higher education. Military 
recruiters indicate that the program's benefits no longer serve as a 
strong incentive to join the military; nor do they serve as a retention 
tool valuable enough to persuade men and women to stay in the military 
and defer the full or part-time pursuit of their higher education until 
a later date. Perhaps most important, the program is losing its value 
as an instrument for readjustment into civilian life after military 
service.
  This point really hit home for me when I recently met with 
representatives of the Maine State Approving Agency (SAA) for Veterans 
Education Programs. They told me of the ever increasing difficulties 
that service members are having in using the G.I. Bill's benefits for 
education and training.
  For example, the Maine representatives told me that the majority of 
today's veterans are married and have children. Yet, the Montgomery 
G.I. Bill often does not cover the cost of tuition to attend a public 
institution, let alone the other costs associated with the pursuit of 
higher education and those required to help support a family.
  In fact, in constant dollars, with one exception, the current G.I. 
Bill provides the lowest level of assistance ever to those who served 
in the defense

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of our country. The basic benefit program of the Vietnam Era G.I. Bill 
provided $493 per month in 1981 to a veteran with a spouse and two 
children. Twenty years later, a veteran in identical circumstances 
receives only $43 more, a mere 8% increase over a time period when 
inflation has nearly doubled, and a dollar buys only half of what it 
once purchased.
  To address these problems, we are offering a modern version of the 
Montgomery G. I. Bill. This new model establishes a sensible, 
easily understood benchmark for G.I. Bill benefits. The benchmark sets 
G.I. Bill benefits at ``the average monthly costs of tuition and 
expenses for commuter students at public institutions of higher 
education that award baccalaureate degrees.'' This commonsense 
provision would serve as the foundation upon which future education 
stipends for all veterans would be based and would set benefits at a 
level sufficient to provide veterans the education promised to them at 
recruitment.

  The current G.I. Bill now provides nine monthly $536 stipends per 
year for four years. The total benefit is $19,296. Under the new 
benchmark established by this legislation, the monthly stipend for the 
this academic year would be $975, producing a new total benefit of 
$35,100 for the four academic years.
  Mr. President, today's G.I. Bill is woefully under-funded and does 
not provide the financial support necessary for our veterans to meet 
their educational goals. The legislation that we are proposing would 
fulfill the promise made to our nation's veterans, help with recruiting 
and retention of men and women in our military, and reflect current 
costs of higher education. Now is the time to enact these modest 
improvements to the basic benefit program of the Montgomery G.I. Bill.
  I urge all members of the Senate to join Senator Johnson and myself 
in support of the Veterans' Higher Education Opportunities Act.
                                 ______