[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 7 (Monday, January 22, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S405-S406]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. JOHNSON (for himself and Ms. Collins):
  S. 131. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to modify 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 am pleased today to join Senator Susan 
Collins (R-ME) in introducing the Veterans' Higher Education 
Opportunities Act. Last year, Senator Collins and I introduced similar 
legislation, S. 2419, that received broad, bipartisan support in 
Congress and among the veterans and higher education communities. Our 
goal with this year's legislation remains the same: to modernize the 
Montgomery GI Bill and help veterans achieve their goals of higher 
education.
  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.
  Unfortunately, the current GI Bill can no longer deliver these 
results and fails in its promise to veterans, new recruits and the men 
and women of the armed services. The Veterans' Higher Education 
Opportunities Act will modernize the GI Bill and ensure its viability 
as education costs continue to increase.
  Over 96 percent 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. The main reason why 
military personnel no longer use the GI Bill is because GI Bill 
benefits have not kept pace with increased costs of education.
  There is 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 a little more than 
half of that cost.
  The Veterans' Higher Education Opportunities Act creates that 
benchmark by indexing the GI Bill to the costs of attending the average 
four-year public institution as a commuter student. This benchmark cost 
will be updated annually by the College Board in order for the GI Bill 
to keep pace with increasing costs of education.
  The Veterans' Higher Education Opportunities Act is truly a 
bipartisan effort to address recruitment and retention in the armed 
forces. In addition, the Veterans' Higher Education Opportunities Act 
has the overwhelming support of the Partnership for Veterans' 
Education--a coalition of the nation's leading 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 Officers Association.
  As the parent of a son who serves in the Army, these military 
``quality of life'' issues are of particular concern to me. Making the 
GI Bill pay for viable educational opportunity makes as much sense 
today as it did following World War II. In fact, a study conducted on 
beneficiaries of the original GI Bill shows that the cost to benefit 
ratio of the GI Bill was an astounding 12.5 to 1. That means that our 
nation gained more than $12.50 in benefits for every dollar invested in 
college or graduate education for veterans.
  Congress and the President took an important step last year toward 
improving the Montgomery GI Bill by passing into law the Veterans 
Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act of 2000. This law increases 
the monthly education benefit to $650 and increases educational 
benefits of veterans survivors and dependents. These changes are long 
overdue, and the next step in restoring the effectiveness of the 
Montgomery GI Bill is through the Veterans' Higher Education 
Opportunities Act and the creation of a true benchmark for veterans 
educational benefits.
  The very modest cost of improving the GI Bill will help our military 
and our society. I look forward to working with incoming Veterans 
Administration Secretary Anthony Principi, Senator Collins and my 
colleagues in the Senate, and interested members of the House of 
Representatives on passage of the Veterans' Higher Education 
Opportunities Act.
  I ask unanimous consent that a copy 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. 131

       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 2001''.

     SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF 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 $650 (as 
     increased from time to time under subsection (h))'' 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 (h))''; and
       (2) in subsection (b)(1) by striking ``of $528 (as 
     increased from time to time under subsection (h))'' 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 (h))''.
       (b) Determination of Average Monthly Costs.--Subsection (h) 
     of that section is amended to read as follows:
       ``(h)(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

[[Page S406]]

     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, 2001.
       (2) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall make the 
     determination required by subsection (h) 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 2002.

  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 2001. This legislation, which is an 
updated version of the measure we introduced in the 106th Congress, 
will provide our veterans with expanded educational opportunities at a 
reasonable cost. Endorsed by the Partnership for Veterans Education, a 
broad coalition including over 40 veterans service organizations and 
education associations, our legislation provides a new model for 
today's G.I. Bill that is logical, fair, and worthy of a nation that 
values both higher education and our veterans.
  The original G.I. Bill was enacted in 1944. As a result of this 
initiative, 7.8 million World War II veterans were able to take 
advantage of post-service 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 
G.I. Bill.
  Since that time, the G.I. Bill has seen a number of changes but has 
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 Montgomery G.I. Bill has served our country well over the past 15 
years. However, the value of the educational benefit assistance it 
provides 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 a means to help our 
men and women in uniform readjust to civilian life after military 
service.
  This point really hit home for me when I met last year 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 facing 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.
  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. Before 
the reforms of last year, a veteran in identical circumstances received 
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. 
In constant dollars, the amount was the second-lowest level of 
assistance ever extended under the G.I. Bill to those who served in the 
defense of our country.
  While we made progress last year in increasing stipend levels under 
the G.I. Bill, the reforms fell drastically short of allocating 
sufficient funds to cover the current cost of higher education. 
Moreover, the increase failed to address the structural reforms needed 
to ensure that the G.I. Bill provides sufficient funds for the 
education of our nation's veterans long into the 21st Century.
  To address these problems, we are offering a modern version of the 
Montgomery G.I. Bill. Our 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 common sense 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 $650 stipends per 
year for four years. The total benefit is $23,400. Under the new 
benchmark established by this legislation, the monthly stipend for this 
academic year would be $1025, producing a new total benefit of $36,900 
for the four academic years. By using our benchmark, which is updated 
annually by the College Board, the G.I. Bill benefits will truly 
reflect the current cost of higher education.
  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.
                                 ______