[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 107 (Thursday, June 26, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6214-S6215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                GI BILL

  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I rise in support of the bipartisan Webb 
GI bill, and I urge the Senate to join me in voting to pass it without 
further delay. As a member of the veterans committee, this legislation 
has been a big priority of mine for the past year and a half.
  Montana is home to more than 100,000 veterans. I have spoken with 
many of them over the past year and a half, and I was very pleased to 
work on their behalf last year for the largest increase in funding in 
the history of the VA.
  Earlier this year, the Senate passed my legislation to raise the 
reimbursement rate for veterans' travel to and from VA facilities. It 
was the first increase in 30 years.
  As American forces continue to be engaged in wars in Afghanistan and 
Iraq, it is well past time for Congress to step up to the plate and 
deliver for our veterans.
  This new GI bill will provide first-class educational benefits for 
those who served since 9/11. It will pay for tuition and books and a 
monthly stipend roughly equivalent to the benefits given to millions of 
Americans following World War II.
  The first GI bill created a vibrant middle class that drives our 
economy to this day and makes America the envy of the world. This GI 
bill can do the same again.
  Every major veterans organization in this country supports this bill. 
I understand even the White House has dropped its longstanding 
opposition, and the President now says he will sign this bill into law.
  Passing the 21st century GI bill will be a landmark achievement for 
this Congress. It will strengthen our Nation's military readiness 
through better recruitment by making military service a more practical 
option, and it will provide an important investment in Americas's 
future by enabling veterans to afford college at a time when career 
options and lifetime earning potential are increasingly linked to 
higher education.
  One in nine Montanans have served our country in the military. We 
have one of the highest veterans rates in the country, and our Montana 
values compel us to take care of those who have served. Many of my 
Montana neighbors have written to me in support of this new GI bill for 
the new ``greatest generation.''
  One airman from Belt, MT, said to me:

       I hope this bill passes for myself and for future 
     generations. I have been deployed three times in my five and 
     a half years of active duty service, and will be leaving 
     active duty service within the year. This bill is finally 
     something that will allow people to do the things that they 
     put off and that so many have died for since the beginning of 
     our war on terrorism. I ask you to support this bill and 
     allow all our Armed Forces members to succeed in life and all 
     their endeavors.

  Another veteran from Kalispell, MT, wrote:

       I read with a great deal of interest your article in the 
     Flathead Beacon about the need for a GI Bill, much like that 
     of what we had in the past. I was able to attend college 
     under the GI Bill after I was discharged from the Army in 
     1956 under that bill enacted for World War II vets. The GI 
     Bill was instrumental in the creation of our middle class. It 
     gave this child of the Depression an opportunity to 
     experience the degree of success that I very likely would not 
     have been able to achieve had it not been for that GI Bill.

  These are just two examples of the many letters I have received from 
back home. I know many Senators received similar letters. I call on all 
of my colleagues to join me in voting for this vital legislation. We 
must pass this bill to honor the service and sacrifice of our Nation's 
veterans and to invest in America's future.
  I have been pleased to work on this important piece of legislation 
with a bipartisan group of Senators led by the Senator from Virginia, 
one of my fellow members of the Senate class of 2006.
  Senator Webb and I hail from different parts of the country and 
different walks of life, but we joined the Senate at the same time with 
a simple hope: to provide a new direction for our Nation.
  Last year, Senator Webb and I traveled together to Iraq. We were able 
to visit with quite a few of the brave young men and women who serve 
our country day in and day out. When you talk to these folks, it really 
makes you feel that our Nation is in good hands.

[[Page S6215]]

They are serving us well, and now it is time to do right by them. This 
is commonsense legislation that will demonstrate to our veterans that 
America honors their service and cares about their future.
  Passing this bill is the right thing to do, and it is the smart thing 
to do. I urge the Senate to vote as soon as possible to pass this new 
GI bill for America's new ``greatest generation.''
  I thank the Senator from Missouri for giving me this opportunity to 
speak.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Hawaii is recognized.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, as the chairman of the Senate Veterans' 
Affairs Committee, I am very pleased to express my support for the 
provisions of the war funding supplemental that would establish a new 
GI bill for the 21st century.
  These provisions, drawn from S. 22 as introduced by the junior 
Senator from Virginia, Mr. Webb, who serves with me on the committee, 
will establish a new program of educational assistance for the brave 
young men and women who have answered the call to duty in service to 
our country since September 11, 2001.
  This past Sunday, June 22, marks the 64th anniversary of the original 
GI bill. As one of the 8 million World War II veterans who took 
advantage of the opportunity it made available, I know firsthand the 
value of what we are prepared to approve today. If it were not for the 
valuable educational benefits I received, I would not be standing here 
today in the Senate.
  Without the GI bill and the maturity and discipline I learned through 
my military service, I am certain my life would have turned out much 
differently. The original GI bill changed America. It made higher 
education accessible for individuals from all backgrounds.
  Veterans flooded colleges and universities. Huge lines of returning 
servicemembers doubled or tripled enrollments. By the time the original 
GI bill expired in 1956, the United States was richer by hundreds of 
thousands of trained engineers, accountants, teachers, scientists, 
doctors, dentists, and more than 1 million other college-educated 
individuals.
  The original GI bill created major social change. Some have credited 
it with creating the middle class. And when the sons and daughters of 
the ``greatest generation,'' the baby boomers, came of age, the legacy 
of a college education was passed on to them.
  Today, we are set to approve a measure that will shape today's 
military, the future of the military, and the future of our Nation for 
many years to come. Today's new veterans will know that we honor the 
contributions they have made in service to this Nation. We understand 
the sacrifices they made, the hardships they endured, and the toll that 
has taken on their lives and the lives of their families.
  This new GI bill will be a tool that the military can use to attract 
our best and brightest college-bound high school seniors to voluntary 
military service. Down the road these new veterans will turn to their 
children and grandchildren and tell them that the way to advancement is 
through the successful completion of an honorable period of service to 
their country.
  I am genuinely delighted to have played a role, however small, in the 
formulation of this legislation. I sought to work with Senator Webb 
early in the development of this measure. When the time for action was 
at hand, he and I came together as a team and crafted the workable 
measure that is before the Senate today. I express my deep respect and 
gratitude to Senator Webb for his untiring efforts and personal 
commitment to this issue.
  As chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, I am excited 
to see that this new GI bill will have a smooth transition. I intend to 
work closely with Senator Webb and others toward that end. We will 
begin later this week by ordering reported a group of technical 
amendments that will help ensure that the implementation of the new GI 
bill will be as effective as possible.
  The committee, in its oversight capacity, will also be working 
closely with both the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to 
identify and resolve issues before they become problems.
  Today, with the final passage of this new GI bill, we say to our 
newest generation of citizen soldiers, we appreciate you. We recognize 
that the ability of our Armed Forces to attract and retain quality 
personnel in the future, and consequently our national security, 
depends on how we meet the needs of those serving us today. The new GI 
bill will do that for our country.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa is recognized.

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