[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11618]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                GI BILL

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, the original GI Bill, the Serviceman's 
Readjustment Act of 1944, is one of the most significant laws in our 
history. It provided education to millions of Americans and created 
economic opportunity for a generation.
  Subsequent GI Bills were signed into law to cover the soldiers of 
subsequent conflicts, but these benefits came with a catch. They had to 
be used within 10 or 15 years.
  Mr. Speaker, the sacrifice of our soldiers is immeasurable and 
timeless, and our gratitude should not come with an expiration date. 
Many returning veterans postpone education to support their families or 
rehabilitate from war injuries.
  A recent VA report found that 21 percent of veterans had not used 
their educational benefits because their period of eligibility had 
expired. Moreover, placing limits on educational benefits is out of 
step with the increasingly competitive global economy. Today many 
workers will need specific skill training throughout their entire 
career.
  I have introduced the Veterans Education Flexibility Act to remove 
these outdated deadlines and retroactively restore the benefits to the 
Americans who earned them. I encourage my colleagues to join on this 
bill to correct this terrible injustice.

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