President Obama Celebrates New 'GI Bill'
By VOA News
03 August 2009
U.S. President Barack Obama is celebrating a new "GI Bill" that allows everyone serving in the military since September 11, 2001, to receive a free college education.
The White House says the program is the most extensive educational assistance opportunity since the passage of the original GI Bill in 1944.
President Obama is attending a rally Monday at George Mason University in the southern state of Virginia to mark the implementation of the bill.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill, which became effective this month, allows service members to receive an undergraduate college education at U.S. public universities and some private universities at no cost. Then-President George W. Bush signed the legislation into law last year.
The Department of Veterans Affairs began distributing tuition payments to colleges at the start of August.
Veterans Affairs says the new bill expands the number of people who qualify for education support, compared to three earlier GI bills.
The benefits in the new bill are open to service members who served on active duty for at least 90 days starting September 11, 2001, or members who served at least 30 continuous days on active duty and were released due to a service-connected disability. Eligibility under other GI bills varied.
Under the new bill, tuition and fees that are paid vary by state and veteran's period of service. Under the other GI bills, veterans received a set amount based on their eligibility.
The new bill also provides veterans, but not active duty members, with a monthly housing allowance and an annual stipend of up to $1,000 for books and supplies.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
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