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How to cover the $12 billion cost of these initiatives, over just the next five years, is still to be determined, conceded Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), committee chairman. But he promised colleagues to try to find the money. More proposals than these were approved in the catchall omnibus bill, S 944, forwarded to the full Senate for further debate and amendments before passage, and later, reconciliation with more modest House plans.
One initiative having no cost would grant veteran status to more than 200,000 Reserve and Guard retirees -- those who have served 20 years or more to earn retirement at age 60, but didnt serve at least 180 days on active duty to be viewed as a veteran under current law. Proponents of this measure say these retirees dont seek more VA benefits. They simply want to be able to answer yes when asked if they are veterans, or to rise at public gatherings when veterans are asked to stand and be recognized. Other initiatives in S 944 would:
* Require public or state-run colleges and universities to charge veterans who use the GI Bill their lower in-state tuition rates.
* Require VA to report publicly once a quarter on disability claims processing goals and how those stack up against actual claim decisions.
* Make it easier for veterans traumatized by sexually assault in service to gain VA disability compensation.
* Increase veterans access to alternative medicine, chiropractic care and other new approaches to care delivery.
Rep. Richard Burr (N.C.), ranking Republican on the committee, was the lone voice opposing all provisions not paid for, he said, so we wont continue to saddle future generations of Americans with continued debt. He opposed Sanders provision to expand the VA caregiver program, now limited to caregivers of seriously ill or injured post-9/11 veterans. The program pays a monthly stipend and also caregiver needs for counseling, training, respite periods and travel expenses.
The committee agreed by voice vote to extend the program to caregivers of any severely injured veteran. Before the vote, Burr noted the $8.5 billion cost over the first five years, and urged Sanders to find offsets elsewhere in the budget before the full Senate votes on the measure. Youre right, Sanders told Burr. This is an expensive piece of legislation. So is giving tax breaks to millionaires. So is having one out of four corporations in this county not paying a nickel in taxes.
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Every military branch has stopped processing tuition assistance applications until either a continuing resolution — a stopgap spending measure — or budget to fund the government for Fiscal Year 2014 is passed. “Tuition Assistance funding for those classes starting after Oct. 1 will not be available until ... funding is released,” according to a post on the U.S. Navy’s official ‘Navy Live’ blog site. No tuition assistance documents will be processed, it said. All Navy College offices are closed. Marines and Sailors can still apply for tuition assistance online, but applications will not be processed until the government reopens, according to officials from both services.
The Air Force issued a statement saying all tuition assistance for classes starting on or after Oct. 1, the start of Fiscal 2014, would be suspended until further notice. “Airmen with approved TA for FY14 may incur debt with their school should they attend classes,” Kimberly Yates, with the Air Force force development office, said in the statement. “Students should take action to withdraw from their current class or pursue using another funding source, such as the Montgomery GI Bill or the Post 9/11 GI Bill.” The U.S. Army’s GoArmyEd tuition assistance website posted an urgent message on the suspension.
GoArmyEd “will reject all approved and pending TA requests for classes scheduled to start on or after” Oct. 1, until Congress adopts either a budget or Continuing Resolution. That means that any approved tuition assistance requests for classes that start during the shutdown are essentially void, and soldiers may incur debt if they attend those classes. Soldiers will be able to resume filing tuition assistance requests once the situation is resolved, but will not be able to request assistance for classes that started during the suspension, the website said. “These actions are unprecedented in the history of the Army’s TA program, but we are bound by budgetary law,” the Army posted on its GoArmyEd Facebook page.
While many soldiers posted comments thanking the Army for keeping them informed, others seemed befuddled. “You would have thought that money for courses starting next week would have been obligated before the 1st,” wrote one commenter. This is not the first time budget struggles have affected tuition assistance. In March, the Army, Air Force and Marines abruptly halted tuition assistance because of sequestration budget cuts, but the assistance was reinstated by Congress in an appropriations bill, amid an outcry from servicemembers, veterans groups and military advocates. About 300,000 servicemembers used the military tuition assistance programs last year. Tuition assistance provides eligible servicemembers up to $4,500 per fiscal year and a maximum of $250 per semester hour to cover tuition and allowable fees.
At the U.S. Navy Base in Bahrain, Marcus Johnson, a University of Maryland field representative, said he has been fielding questions from concerned sailors, who are expressing “a lot of worry about when they are going to be able to use their TA.” At least for UMUC classes, “there is still time,” Johnson said. The next semester of UMUC classes starts Nov. 3. Other educational benefits have also been affected. Navy officials say during the shutdown there will be no counseling or educational services available, including language and testing services. Even the Virtual Education Center is closed.
http://www.stripes.com/news/government-shutdown-halts-military-tuition-assistance-1.245065
In a Friday press conference outside the World War II memorial, American Legion National Commander Daniel Dellinger called the partial government shutdown insulting and disrespectful to veterans. Department of Veterans Affairs officials have warned that an extended shutdown could stall disability and education benefits checks, as well as slow pending claims. “That a World War II or Korean War veteran now has to worry about their pension check defies common sense and morality,” he said. “They need to get this done.” When asked who was at fault for the shutdown, Dellinger replied “I blame them all: The president, the House and the Senate.” The news conference came as the shutdown entered its fourth day without any political solution in sight.
A continuing resolution to resume normal federal operations — even without a new, full federal budget — has been mired in disagreement all week over Republican’s insistence of changes to the new Affordable Care Act, and Democrats refusal to include the topic in a budget deal. Earlier in the week, leadership of the Veterans of Foreign Wars chastised the White House and Congress in a letter also demanding an end to the shutdown, saying it endangers both national security and veterans’ care. “We expect more from our elected leadership, and not a piecemeal approach that would use the military or disabled veterans as leverage in a political game,” wrote William Thien, commander of the group.
Leadership at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America said Congress “needs to stop playing games” and end the shutdown before the effects on veterans worsen. Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich. — one of the last two WWII veterans in Congress — and former senator Bob Dole issued a statement saying the shutdown dishonors the “sacrifice and bravery” of all veterans. VA officials have said that most operations and employees are currently unaffected by the shutdown. Health centers remain open, benefit checks are still being sent out, and only about 5 percent of the department’s employees have been furloughed.
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