[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 127 (Friday, October 8, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1843-E1844]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    THE GUARD AND RESERVE EDUCATION AND TRAINING (GREAT) ACT OF 2004

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 6, 2004

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce today 
the Guard and Reserve Education and Training Act of 2004. GREAT would 
bring VA educational assistance opportunities for Guard and Reserve 
members--often referred to as the Selected Reserve--more in line with 
those of their active duty counterparts. In the post-9/11 environment, 
active duty and Guard/Reserve members often serve side-by-side as part 
of our Total Force concept. I believe it's an issue the Veterans' 
Affairs and Armed Services Committee can work on together because the 
Department of Veterans Affairs administers the program determining 
eligibility and pays educational assistance allowances.
  This year America celebrates the 60th Anniversary of the original 
World War II GI Bill. Due to the GI Bill, college enrollment grew 
dramatically. In 1947, GI Bill enrollees accounted for almost half of 
the total college population. In the decade following World War II, 
more than 2 million eligible men and women attended college using GI 
Bill educational benefits. The result was an American workforce 
enriched by 450,000 engineers, 238,000 teachers, 91,000 scientists, 
67,000 doctors, 22,000 dentists and another million college-educated 
men and women. Indeed, the GI Bill is arguably our most successful 
program ever due to its profound effect on our economy and our 
workforce.
  In 1985, under the visionary leadership of our former Veterans' 
Affairs Committee Chairman, G.V. ``Sonny'' Montgomery, Congress 
designed the modern version of the GI Bill, fittingly now called the 
Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB). In Public Law 107-103, the Veterans 
Education and Benefits Expansion Act of 2001, Congress significantly 
increased MGIB purchasing power for veterans and servicemembers. I was 
privileged to author this legislation which increased the MGIB basic 
benefit from $672 to $800 per month in January 2002, to $900 in October 
2002 and to $985 in October 2003--a 46 percent increase. These 
increases are the largest in the MGIB's remarkable history. With the 
annual cost of living increase for fiscal year 2005, the MGIB now pays 
$1,004 per month.
  GREAT would continue the progression of improvements to the MGIB by 
providing a greater benefit to our Guard and Reserve members.
  First, this legislation would increase the VA monthly educational 
assistance allowance rate for Guard/Reserve members from $288 to $400. 
When Congress first created the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB)-Selected 
Reserve educational assistance program in 1985, it established the 
monthly benefit level at about 47 percent of the active duty rate. 
However, the education benefit rate for Selected Reservists has lagged 
significantly behind the original 47 percent figure. Today, the $288 
per month that members of the Selected Reserve receive under chapter 
1606 of title 10, United States Code, is only about 28 percent of the 
$1,004 per month that regular active-duty servicemembers receive under 
chapter 30 of title 38, United States Code. My proposed increase to 
$400 per month would be a first step to bring the Selected Reserve 
education benefit closer to the amount Congress envisioned when it 
initially created the MGIB.

  Second, GREAT would establish a new, higher benefit for Guard and 
Reserve members who have accumulated 180 days within a 5-year period of 
active duty service in a contingency operation since September 11, 
2001. This new benefit would be equal to the benefit for servicemembers 
who enlist for 2 years of active duty and 4 years of Reserve duty--$816 
per month. These Reservists and Guards members would not incur a $1,200 
pay reduction to be eligible for the new benefit. In my view, the 
current pay reduction simply represents a kind of tax. The House did 
not originally contemplate such a pay reduction for either active duty 
or Selected Reserve members. In fact, the 1999 report of the bipartisan 
Congressional Commission on Servicemembers and Veterans Transition 
Assistance recommended that Congress repeal the $1,200 pay reduction.
  Third, to establish greater equity in the Selected Reserve and active 
duty educational assistance programs, my bill would allow beneficiaries 
to use entitlement during a 14-year period that would begin on the date 
of their last day of active duty, the same as the policy currently in 
effect for active duty servicemembers. This new, 14-year delimiting 
date would be available to members of the Selected Reserve on or after 
September 30, 2004. Currently, Selected Reserve members may use VA 
educational assistance benefits under the MGIB only while still serving 
in the Reserves.
  Finally, GREAT would give service branch secretaries the 
discretionary authority to allow Selected Reserve members to transfer 
any unused VA educational entitlement to dependents if the member has 
completed at least 20 years in the Reserves. Many Reservists are 
married and have families. My bill would furnish them an additional 
tool to finance a child or spouse's education or training to compete in 
the workforce. The Congressional Commission on Servicemembers and 
Veterans Transition Assistance also made this recommendation.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. The role of Guard 
and Reserve members in our national defense has changed dramatically 
under the Total Force concept. Guard and Reserve members can be 
mobilized for up to 2 years. They often experience some of the same 
types of issues in transitioning from military to civilian life as do 
their active duty counterparts. My bill would help facilitate that 
transition through increased training opportunities in a highly 
competitive civilian economy. Further, my bill fundamentally 
acknowledges

[[Page E1844]]

that Reserve component servicemembers who incur the same risks as other 
servicemembers in protecting our everyday freedoms indeed have earned a 
more comparable benefits package.

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