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Dear Friend, The House just passed the Forever G.I. Bill, a sweeping update to veteran's education benefits and the biggest expansion in decades. The package includes my bill to give eligible Purple Heart recipients the full G.I. Bill education benefits they earned through their service, which will help an estimated 660 Purple Heart veterans a year as they transition to civilian life. The bipartisan reforms I worked on with my colleagues on the Veteran's Affairs Committee honors the promise we make to our veterans to help them get
a quality education that will set them up for success.
Honoring Purple Heart Veterans Purple
Heart veterans make some of the most significant sacrifices in service to our
country, but one
of out five Purple Heart veterans do not qualify for
full G.I. Bill education benefits. These heroes fought and bled for us, and my bill gives
them the full education benefits they earned. Whether they use these benefits for college, vocational school, or on-the-job training, expanding educational options will help wounded veterans transition to civilian life. |
Watch Rep. Peters speak during debate of the Forever G.I. Bill. The progress we made this week builds on a history of taking care of our veterans when they return home from active duty. A Brief History of the G.I. Bill Following World War II, Congress passed The
Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944―more commonly known as
the G.I. Bill―which established hospitals, low-interest
mortgages, and stipends for college and trade school tuitions as a way to
help veterans avoid some of the economic hardships of the WWI generation. The
programs created by the bill aimed to save veterans from the perils of a
devastating war, and also laid the foundation for a system to get veterans the
support and benefits they earned through their service and sacrifice. |
The next major update was the Montgomery G.I. Bill, which expanded the educational programs, institutions and financial support of the post-WWII version and also extended these benefits to the Reserve and National Guard. Montgomery G.I. benefits were also tied to changes in the Consumer Price Index and length of service.
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