[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 23 (Thursday, February 6, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             H.R. 357, THE GI TUITION FAIRNESS ACT OF 2013

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ANDER CRENSHAW

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 6, 2014

  Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, February 3, 2014, I was 
unavoidably detained due to weather and missed votes. Had I been 
present, I would have voted ``yea'' on House Vote No. 33, on passage of 
H.R. 357, the GI Tuition Fairness Act of 2013.
  For over 50 years, Congress has recognized that one of the greatest 
sacrifices by our service members is that their military service often 
prevents them from attending school and attaining higher levels of 
education. To address this sacrifice, our country has made educational 
benefits a cornerstone of military service.
  The GI Tuition Fairness Act of 2013 establishes in-state tuition 
rates for all veterans attending college on the Post 9/11 GI bill and 
would ensure that they are not punished for faithfully fulfilling their 
military service obligations away from their original state of 
residency. Due to the nature of military service, our veterans often 
have a hard time establishing residency for purposes of obtaining in-
state tuition. This bill takes a stand to guarantee in-state tuition 
for student veterans regardless of residency status. These men and 
women should not be forced into more expensive college programs just 
because public universities do not offer the flexibility in their 
residency requirements. Our veterans have made incomparable sacrifices, 
and they deserve all the backlines of support we can give them.
  Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly support the passage of H.R. 357, and 
would like to set the record straight that if I were able to cast my 
vote, it would have been a proud ``yea.''

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