Obama and Democratic Congress Deliver on Higher Education Benefits, Promises to Veterans
For Immediate Release
August 4, 2009
Contact: Alec Gerlach- 202-863-8148
Obama and Democratic Congress Deliver on Higher Education Benefits, Promises to Veterans
Democratic National Committee's Veterans and Military Families Council Lauds Administration’s Implementation of Post-9/11 GI Bill and Commitment to a New Generation of Veterans
WASHINGTON, DC – Following the President’s appearance yesterday in Virginia with Veterans Affairs Secretary Shinseki and Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) announcing the implementation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Lt. General Claudia Kennedy, U.S. Army (Retired), and Col. Don Fowler, U.S. Army (Retired), Co-Chairs of the Democratic National Committee's Veterans and Military Families Council released the following statement. The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides for tuition and housing assistance for veterans who served on active duty after September 10, 2001. On August 1st, the Department of Veterans Affairs, for the first time, began disbursing tuition assistance to universities for enrolled veterans benefitting from the bill.
“With the implementation of this bill, the President's dedication to the men and women of the U.S. military is again made very clear. President Obama is delivering on his promise to veterans and renewing the commitment to our warriors in the armed forces – a commitment that begins at enlistment but not absolved at discharge. Our veterans have selflessly laid their lives on the line, and they deserve a chance to secure for themselves the very opportunities that they have defended so valiantly.
“The GI Bill enacted sixty-five years ago laid the foundation for an unprecedented era of prosperity in America’s middle-class. Like the veterans who fought in World War II and returned home to help build an era of financial prosperity for our country, today’s veterans deserve the same opportunity to contribute to turning around the current economic crisis.
“The Post-9/11 GI Bill will assist them in pursuing a college education and offer the chance to contribute to the economic recovery of America after they’ve returned from foreign battlefields. Our veterans deserve the gratitude and respect of a nation, and we owe them the opportunity to make the best of themselves.”
