VaHigherEd.com

A Richmond Times-Dispatch story from earlier this week focuses on the continued efforts of U.S. Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.) to create a new GI Bill for those now serving in the nation’s armed forces.

He has introduced the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007, which would match the benefits World War II veterans received.

“If we believe that our veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are the new ‘greatest generation,’ we must recognize their education as a cost of war and offer them the benefits they deserve,” Webb said.

The original GI Bill had an impact on America’s economy, standard of living and global competitiveness for most of the second half of the 20th century.

The GI Bill put college and homeownership within reach of millions of returning veterans who most likely would not have had the opportunity before the war, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Millions of vets who would have flooded the job market opted instead for education. By the time the original GI Bill ended on July 25, 1956, 7.8 million of 16 million World War II veterans had participated in an education or training program. From 1944 to 1952, the VA also backed nearly 2.4 million home loans for World War II veterans, the veterans department says.

The GI Bill paid tuition, room and board, and provided a stipend for all World War II veterans.

Considering the way America’s higher education attainment rates have stagnated for so long, what could the impact of a new GI Bill be?

Posted by Jeff Kraus