Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today said he was pleased that legislation to expand education and training benefits to the nation’s 2.4 million active duty and reserve members of the armed forces was signed into law.  Bingaman was a co-sponsor of the stand-alone version of the bill; the measure passed the Senate today as part of a key supplemental spending bill that funds operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The “Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008,” which expands the current Montgomery GI Bill, would provide veterans with a level of educational benefits identical to those provided to service members at the end of World War II.  The new benefits package would include coverage of tuition, room and board, and an annual book stipend of $1,000.

“This law will provide many of our country’s brave men and women with the opportunity to continue their education and prepare for a career outside the military,” Bingaman said. 

Under the Montgomery GI program, which was passed into law in 1984, participating service members receive financial support of up to $800 per month for veterans’ educational expenses, but it does not necessarily cover the full cost of higher education or career training.  Additionally, service members were required to pay $1,200 in their first year of service in order to qualify for the benefit.

Specifically, the bill would:

• Provide increased educational benefits to all members of the military who have served on active duty for at least three months since September 11, 2001;
• Offer educational assistance in proportion to the total length of active duty service on or after 9/11, from three to 36 months, to provide a maximum benefit of the cost of any in-state public school's tuition and fees for four academic years;
• Create a new program in which the government would match any additional contributions to veterans from colleges and universities whose tuition is more expensive than the maximum assistance provided; and
• Allow veterans up to fifteen years after they leave active duty to use their educational assistance benefit, rather than ten years currently provided under the Montgomery GI program.

 Bingaman said the bill also contains $400 million for the Merida Initiative, which is aimed at addressing drug-related violence and narcotics trafficking in Mexico.

“The Merida Initiative is an important step in working with Mexico to fight drug trafficking and reduce the level of violence that has plagued certain parts of the country,” Bingaman said.