[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 72 (Wednesday, May 23, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5547-S5548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CLELAND (for himself, Mr. Warner, Mr. Levin, Mr. Kennedy, 
        Mr. Reed, Ms. Landrieu, Mrs. Carnahan, Mr. Dayton, Mr. 
        Bingaman, and Mr. Lieberman):
  S. 937. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to permit the 
transfer of entitlement to educational assistance the Montgomery GI 
bill by members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  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 appreciate the support of my 
colleagues who have supported my provisions to enhance the GI bill, 
Senators Levin, Kennedy, Bingaman, Reed, Dayton, Landrieu, and 
Carnahan. I also like to recognize the Chairman of the Senate Armed 
Services Committee, Senator Warner, who himself went to school on the 
GI bill. I want to thank him for his cosponsorship, support and 
encouragement in improving the GI bill for military personnel and their 
families.
  I call this measure the HOPE, Help Our Professionals Educationally, 
Act.
  In 1999, Time magazine named the American GI as the Person of the 
Century. That alone is a statement about the 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 filled with strife and conflict. During this 
period, the American GI has fought in the trenches during the first 
World War, the beaches at Normandy, in the jungles of Vietnam, in the 
deserts of the Persian Gulf, and most recently in the Balkans and 
Kosovo.
  The face of our military and the people who fight our wars has 
changed. The traditional image of the single, mostly male, drafted, and 
disposable soldier is 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 included a beer in the 
barracks and a three-day pass. Now, we know we have to recruit a 
soldier and retain a family.
  We have won the cold war, this victory has changed the world and our 
military. The new world order has given us a new world disorder. The 
United States is responding to crises around the globe, whether it be 
strategic bombing or humanitarian assistance, and our military is the 
our most effective response. 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 has recently experienced the longest running peacetime 
economic growth in history. This economic expansion has been a boom for 
our Nation. However, there is a negative impact of this growing 
economy. With the enticement of quick prosperity in the civilian sector 
it is more difficult than ever to recruit and retain our highly skilled 
force.
  The services have increased their budgets for advertising and 
refocused attention on recruiting. However, we still face problems in 
retaining some of the key skills that our service men and women 
possess--skills that our new economy is demanding. The highly trained 
technical skilled personnel are leaving the military to seek a better 
quality of life for their family outside of our military.
  As I have heard so often, the decision to stay in the military is 
made at the dinner table. It was the wisdom of a young enlisted soldier 
at Schofield Barracks who noted, when the choice is `stay in the 
military or stay married,' the soldier opts to stay married. In my 
travels across Georgia, around the country, and abroad, I have found 
that our men and women in uniform want to do what is right, for 
themselves and the country. However, our benefits systems have not kept 
pace and forcing our personnel to choose between family and service.

  In talking with our military personnel, we know that money alone is 
not enough. Education is the number one reason service members come 
into the military and the number one reason its members are leaving. In 
recent years the Senate began to address this issue by supporting 
improved education benefits for military members and their families.
  My amendment will improve and enhance the current educational 
benefits and create the GI bill for the 21st century and beyond.
  One of the most important provisions of my amendment would give the 
Service Secretaries the authority to authorize a service member to 
transfer half of his or her basic MGIB benefits 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 will give them, in affect, an educational savings 
account, so that they can stay in the service and still provide an 
education for their spouses and children. This will give the 
Secretaries a very powerful retention tool.
  The measure would allow the Services to authorize transfer of unused 
basic GI bill benefits of a servicemember who has been in the military 
for 6 years. The spouse would be able to use these benefits immediately 
upon authorization by the services. This provision is designed to 
assist the spouse of a military member in pursuing their own education 
or assist them in gaining the necessary skills to prepare for an 
occupation in the new economy.
  The measure also includes language that permits a servicemember with 
ten years of service to transfer GI bill benefits to a dependent child. 
This provision is designed to help a servicemember with the expected 
costs of a child's education. It could be used to help with secondary 
expenses as well as with college costs.
  I believe that the Services can use this much like a reenlistment 
bonus to keep valuable service members in the service. 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 the family plays a 
crucial role in the decision of a member to continue their military 
career. Reality dictates that we must address the needs of the family 
in order to retain our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines.
  Another enhancement to the current MGIB would extend the period in 
which the members of Reserve components can use this benefit. Currently 
they lose this benefit when they leave the service or after 10 years of 
service. They have no benefit when they leave service. My amendment 
will permit them to use the benefit up to 5 years

[[Page S5548]]

after their separation. This will encourage them to stay in the 
Reserves for a full career.
  I believe that this is a necessary next step for improving our 
education benefits for our military members and their families. We must 
offer them credible choices. If we offer them choices, and treat the 
members and their families properly, we will show them our respect for 
their service and dedication. Maybe then we can turn around our current 
retention statistics. This GI bill is an important retention tool for 
the services. I believe that education begets education. We must 
continue to focus our resources in retaining our personnel based their 
needs.
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