[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 7, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3955-S3956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. Johnson):
  S. 2462. A bill to amend section 16131 of title 10, United States 
Code, to increase rates of educational assistance under the program of 
educational assistance for members of the Selected Reserve to make such 
rates commensurate with scheduled increases in rates for basic 
educational assistance under section 3015 of title 38, United States 
Code, the Montgomery GI Bill; to the Committee on Armed Services.
  Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I am pleased to be introducing the 
Selected Reserve Educational Assistance Act of 2002. This legislation 
will provide our National Guard and Reserve personnel with expanded 
educational opportunities at a reasonable cost. Endorsed by the 52-
member Partnership for Veterans Education, the bill provides assistance 
and equity that is logical, fair, and worthy of a Nation that values 
both higher education and those who defend the freedoms that we all 
enjoy. Under the total force concept of our military services, a large 
number of Selected Reserve personnel are now on active duty to support 
the war on terrorism at home and abroad.
  The original G.I. bill, known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, 
was enacted in 1944. That bill provided a $500 annual education stipend 
as well as a $50 subsistence allowance. 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 2.2 
million veterans who went on to college. My own father was among those 
veterans who volunteered for the war, fought bravely, and then returned 
to college with assistance from the G.I. bill.
  Since that time, various incarnations of the G.I. bill have continued 
to assist millions of veterans in taking advantage of 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 adoption of the total force concept and 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. It is a two-part program, one for active duty personnel 
and veterans and another for members of the Selected Reserve.
  The value of the educational benefit assistance provided by the 
Montgomery G.I. bill, however, has eroded over time due to inflation 
and the escalating cost of higher education, making it harder for 
service members and veterans to achieve their educational goals. Last 
year, military recruiters indicated to me that the program's benefits 
no longer were as strong an incentive to join the military; nor did 
they serve as a retention toll valuable enough to persuade men and 
women to stay in the military, either on active duty or in the Selected 
Reserve. Perhaps most important, the program has been losing its value 
as an instrument to help our National Guard and Reserve personnel to 
maximize their productivity and contributions to their families and 
the coummunities of which they are a part by furthering their education 
and training.

  In fact, in constant dollars, with one exception, the current G.I. 
bill up until January of this year provided the lowest level of 
assistance ever to those who served in the defense 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 received only $43 more, a 
mere 8 percent increase over a time period when inflation had nearly 
doubled, and a dollar bought only half of what it once purchased.
  During the first session of the 107th Congress, we were successful in 
addressing some of these problems. Public Law 107-103 greatly improved 
educational assistance benefits available under the part of the 
Montgomery GI bill for service members and veterans, Chapter 30. This 
part of the G.I. bill now provides nine monthly $800 stipends per year 
for four years. The total benefit is $28,800. On October 1, 2002, the 
monthly amount will increase to $900, producing a new total benefit of 
$32,400 for the four academic years, a considerable improvement that 
Senator Johnson and I worked hard to accomplish.
  Now is the time to bring educational assistance program for members 
of the Selected Reserve, Chapter 1606, in line with Chapter 30. Current 
full-time assistance for the Selected Reserve is $272 per month for a 
total benefit of $9,792, only 34 percent of the monthly amount 
currently received under the Chapter 30 program. The bill that we are 
introducing today would raise the monthly amount of assistance for our 
Selected Reserve to $428, for a new total benefit of $15,408 and be 
comparable to the increases that have and will occur in the Chapter 30 
program. The increase would be effective October 1, 2002.
  The legislation that we are proposing would fulfill the promise made 
to our Nation's service members, help with recruiting and retention of 
men and women in our military, strengthen the State and national 
economies, and partially reflect the current costs of higher education. 
Now is the time to enact these modest improvements to the benefit 
program of the Montgomery G.I. bill for members of our National Guard 
and Reserve forces.
  I urge all Members of the Senate to join me in support of the 
Selected Reserve Educational Assistance Act of 2002.
  I ask unanimous consent that a letter in support of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:


[[Page S3956]]


                                      Reserve Officers Association


                                         of the United States,

                                      Washington, DC, May 6, 2002.
     Hon. Susan M. Collins,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Collins, I write today on behalf of the nearly 
     80,000 members of the Reserve Officers Association of the 
     United States. I understand that you intend to introduce the 
     Selected Reserve Educational Assistance Act of 2002, 
     legislation that would not only increase educational payments 
     to members of the Selected Reserve, but would also tie 
     proportional increases in the Reserve GI Bill (Chapter 1606) 
     to increases in the active duty (Chapter 30) provisions of 
     the bill.
       ROA believes that these changes are both appropriate and 
     timely in as much as they recognize the increased 
     contributions and responsibilities of the Reserve components 
     within the Total Force. Since Operation Desert Shield/Desert 
     Storm, Reserve component support of contingency operations 
     has increased twelve hundred percent, to the point that it 
     now averages nearly 13,000,000 mandays per year. That figure 
     does not include the nearly 85,000 Reservists currently on 
     active duty in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. 
     Moreover, there is no indication that this tempo of 
     operations is likely to decrease anytime soon.
       Your bill is a landmark in the realm of Reserve education 
     benefits in as much as it contains provisions for automatic 
     increases in payments that keep pace with inflation and with 
     Active component usage. This is a great improvement to a very 
     significant recruiting and retention program, and will 
     doubtless, make it all the more popular and valuable to the 
     military and to the nation as a whole in the years to come.
       Again, let me thank you for support of the Reserve 
     components of our Armed Forces and their people. If we here 
     at ROA can be of any assistance on this matter, please do not 
     hesitate to contact us.
           Sincerely,
                                                Jayson L. Speigel,
                                               Executive Director.

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