75 Senators Stand With Veterans: GI Bill Passes in a Landslide

Today, three-quarters of the Senate voted to support a new GI Bill for the troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Following the 256-166 victory in the House last week, the GI Bill has achieved almost unparalleled momentum. A number of Senators actually changed their NO votes to AYE, as it became clear that this vote was going to be a landslide: 75-22.

These 75 Senators stood with Senators Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel in favor of a new bipartisan GI Bill that actually covers the cost of college. As these Senators return home to honor troops and veterans during the Memorial Day recess, they can proudly point to their vote this week as proof of their commitment to our troops. IAVA thanks each and every one of them.

For the 22 Senators opposing this crucial legislation, I can only express my disappointment. For them, partisanship came before patriotism. (Three Senators were not present for the voting, including Senator Kennedy, who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor, and Senator McCain, who was at a fundraising event in California.)

This was truly a historic vote, and the numbers give me tremendous confidence for the future of the GI Bill. We had a little debate at IAVA HQ about whether to call the margin "powerful" or "overwhelming" - but the real adjective is this: VETO-PROOF.

The President has threatened on multiple occasions to veto the emergency supplemental if it includes war timelines or other policy restrictions, or if it goes over his arbitrary budget cap. The Administration has also expressed objections to the GI Bill based on concerns about retention - basically, they believe that if a GI Bill benefit is too good, it'll reward veterans too richly for their service and draw them away from re-enlisting. You can read my response to that nonsensical argument here.

So with a veto threat looming, we haven't won yet. There is one final hurdle--and it is a big one: the President. When the politicians return to Washington after Memorial Day, Congress will get a final version of the war funding bill to the President, and President Bush will have to decide whether he is with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, or against them.

We've seen today that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle can come together to support our troops. With your help, we can ensure the President will do the same.

Follow Paul Rieckhoff on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PaulRieckhoff

Comments

[usmc917]

Georgia 1st Congressional District Democratic candidate Bill Gillespie and State Party Chair Jane Kidd were in Savannah early last week fighting for vet benefit increases and challenging Republican John McCain's lack of support on veteran issues. Way to go Jane and Bill, our troops need all the help we they can get. Its time to start taking care of our veterans when they come back and provide them the educational opportunities and medical care they deserve.

[Mass Irish 2nd Generation]

Great, I am glad that this bill passed and is veto-proof.

But how long is McCain going to use his old sawhorse of "I was in Vietnam POW camp" to silence criticism of no-show for this important vote and other important issues. If he cared about the veterans, he should have been there to vote and not back slapping fat cat Republicans at a fund raiser.

Does old Johnnie think that all veterans come back from overseas, then dump their first wife and marry an multimillionaire heiress ( a beer heiress at that. Memo to the evangelical community that Johnnie's political career is financed by an ocean of "suds"), and be set for life with twelve different homes to live in.

I hope the "girlie men" of the MSM get over their collective "guy crush" with Johnnie and start to deliver some sharp jabs. Fat chance. Once again, the blogosphere will have to carry the burden.

[thecanadian]

I have a suggestion to make. Why don't all of you vets email the Obama campaign!
http://www.barrackobama.com There is a link there. Or someone should invite Obama to view this log! Also spread the word to all
the other vets at the same time. with the message Vote Obama or invite them to this blog!

Thanks to you and the Nato Troops (I am Canadian - so Afg. ). We do care. In Canada, nothing is yet perfect for our returning troops either BUT at least everytime one of our troops returns in a coffin the media covers it fully. There is NO COVERUP of the deaths & returning coffins. 100% coverage as they are taken to a plane in Afgan. to their arrival. In most cases, with family approval, coverage for the funeral.(s) Or as they return at any airport after their tour - they each and every one have full media coverage. Thank you Vets and active serving members.

[Redrover666]

As a fellow Canadian, I'm a little surprised at your remarks. There is no cover-up of returning dead soldiers. There is an attempt by the military and government to prevent the cheap politicizing of their deaths.

As you well know, this sort of thing would not happen at home. Canadians hold their military in the highest esteem and would beat the hell out of a reporter trying to make political hay from the death of one of our own.

As you also know very well, these Americans seem to enjoy beating the shit out of one another and making a spectacle of themselves.

I served in their Army for thirty years and retired here. I still can't figure the fools out.

[soylentgreenleftovers]

Chickenshit John Cornyn was one of the nays & he is up for re-election in TX...if you live here, remember this well in November.

It will be sweet to override Bush's veto and stick it up his ass on his way out the door. What an irrelevant schmuck.

[iamvalid]

Twenty two republicans voting against American veterans. Should be fairly easy to put up a web page with their pictures. Could call it Neocon wall of shame. Lets do it.

[Angelaaaa]

Couldn't agree more. Who are they? Why do we not have list as this information is in the public domain?

[Big0725]

Try this link. It should give you the info you desire.

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00137

[Big0725]

I'm witcha! How's it done?

[ProudNeoCon]

Paul,

In addition for creating a new GI bill which would pay for the most expensive state college, the bill created another program:

" The bill would create a new program in which the goverement will agree to match, dollar for dollar, any voluntary additional contributions to veterans from institutions whose tuition is mote expensive than the maximum educational assistance provided under S.22"

http://webb.senate.gov/pdf/factsheetgi52208.pdf

Don't you think that this program is ripe for the abuse? Create on-line (or real) college. Set tuition at 60K or more. Admit veterans without any entry exams. Give them 25K in grants. Collect 35K in goverement money (10K from GI bill+ 25K in matching funds). Provide sub-standard education. This is way too easy to abuse...

[prattvictory]

The "GI Bill" was within the bill that continued funding the war. Why is there no opposition to funding the war?

[enoughalready]

Though I respect John McCain's service in Viet Nam I simply do not understand his disrespectful actions for not even showing up to vote for benefits for our troops serving today.

He knows all too well that our soldiers today have been put into a real hellish situation unlike any other time in our history. In Viet Nam, if you were drafted it was for a 2 year service which 12 months had to be served in Viet Nam. Now our military has served at least once and many serving 3 or more times in a war zone. With stop loss programs their families have sacrifices so much. If John McCain actually gave a hoot about these soldiers and their families he would acknowledge that their unusual service do to a trumped up war in Iraq, should be rewarded with the same program WWII and Viet Nam vets received.

Never in our history have we gone to war where all of America sacrificed, till now. Shame on the 22 Senators that voted NO or did not show up.

[glitz]

John McCain is worried about retention..in other words..if our soldiers can get an education he thinks they will all leave the military to go to college!! He is truly off base. The worse thing for retention is the War in Iraq!!

[osturk]

The Air Force should have no problems making enlistment goals.

It should not be the same benifits for everyone. The tougher and longer the service the more you should get back . Thats what I think Mcains point was.

[fedupcitizen]

It seemed like a no-brainer to increase the education benefits for the increased price of tuition and supplies.

I am disappointed that what can only be a benefit for soldiers to better their lives is a political issue.

It only proves that the military is more concerned with retention above all else. Young people who might want to serve for the short term rather than the long term are thereby trapped into a longer commitment.

While I understand the need for retention it should be a choice and not submission.

[doodlefarbe]

I guess it depends on what you want the GI Bill to do.

When I got out in `91, I got from the government under the VEAP program $200/month for 27 months (plus the $100/month for 27 months that I had invested). So I worked full time while in school.

At the time, it was understood that the VEAP program was to provide some assistance, but was not intended to cover a majority of costs (even at a cheap public institution like UIUC where I went).

Many of the posters on these boards seem to believe the GI Bill should cover the entire cost of a moderately-priced (or "average") public university.

Sure wish VEAP had done that. Guess from my point of view, I'm just envious.

"By Gawd, if I had to walk uphill 16 miles barefoot in the snow (both ways) to get to school, sonny, you should too..."

:-)

[Liberal2]

But when I got out, draftees got what volunteers got. What this legislation guarantees is a cohort of unwilling volunteers to go through rethug meat-grinder wars just to get enough money to go to college without a lifetime of debt. Assuming they survive.

I once read that in WWI, Britain lost a young man of Einstein's IQ. In WWII, Britain did not accept men above a certain IQ for combat service due to the cost of losing them.

What we are doing with this legislation is sending our brightest to war.

There has been an analogy to the WWII GI Bill, a false comaparison. Almost an entire generation of 18-26 year old men served in the military. In other words an entire generation were eligible for these benfits. Not a small percentage.

The right solution is a universal education bill that gives all young adults access to college, not just the ones who survive war.

Curious that, for example, high school football players can get full scholarships (and very few graduate, and even fewer become professional in their "field", which is what a full scholarship was intended to make possible) but high school graduates who aspire to math, engineering, science must take out loans (even if they get a scholarship).

[Big0725]

What is "Gawd"?

[BannedFromCommenting]

Not voting was clearly a political move.

By NOT voting, he can say
When addressing Vets: "I was busy with fundraisers, I would have voted yes" , when he feels such a comment will benefit him.

When addressing fiscal conservatives: I would have voted "no" to irresponsible domestic spending!!"

Just wait, you will see, he will flip flop on his answers for what he "would have" voted had he been there. The answer will be whatever fits the political NEED at the time.

Kind of like Barack Obama who says "I would have voted against the war, too", but we will never know because he was not a senator yet to cast a vote.

You can always say what you WOULD have done, that sounds the best to the audience you are addressing whose votes you want on your ballot.

[enoughalready]

Bannedfrom­commenting - please be accurate about your facts.
"Kind of like Barack Obama who says "I would have voted against the war, too", but we will never know because he was not a senator yet to cast a vote."

Obama was running for the US Senate when he very publicly came out against the invasion in Iraq.
It was not popular back then - the Bush Administration was calling anyone who spoke up unpatriotic but Obama stood his ground. Hillary voted for the war. We know exactly how he would have voted because during a time of a political election to stand and state the unpopular view is not playing politics but rather stating a wrong. He had the judgement back then and now.

[KarateKid]

It's veto proof, Georgie. Sign the damned thing, it's long overdue. After all, it was you who put these soldiers through an unprecedented number of rotations and over 4000 will not have the opportunity to contribute further to our society. How does a guy who skated through the reserves because of his daddy's connections sleep at night?

[gipper1]

There is a difference between saying you support the troops and actually supporting them. They have EARNED the benefits this bill provides.

Those who oppose this bill only support exploiting the troops for political purposes.

[Bobby]

Great news. But we can't let Dumbya Bu$h veto this thing. I am totally disgusted by the non-support of this bill by Bu$h, Darth Cheney and John McCain. The bill was led by REAL American heroes like Chuck Hagel and Jim Webb who won medals for their bravery in Nam. But a coward like Bu$h, who was AWOL from his cushy job at the Texas Air National Guard to avoid Nam, so he could go boozing and snorting, won't back a bill that supports the people he has led to their deaths and injuries, both physical and mental. Or Cheney, who used 5 deferments to get out of serving in Nam. Or McCain, who was shot down on his FIRST sortie over Nam, after several other accidents, and then made over 30 anti-American films with Charlie. If Bu$h does veto this bill, and with gas prices and the economy being terrible, look for approval ratings below 20% for Bu$h.

[Chavez08]

Republicans love Israel but hate America. Why is that?

[Big0725]

Rapture baby! That's all it is.

[arvay]

There are two groups ho really need to think and act on this.

First, obviously, the veterans' organizations need to lambaste McCain at the top of their lungs for betraying them.

The second group are all those Appalachians planning to vote for the "white guy" in November. The white guy who plans to send their kids to his 100-year war, and who votes against educating them because if they were educated they might be able to think through his hypocritical "patriotic" claptrap.

The nation long ago rewarded John McCain for his service. Now he needs to be defeated so the nation can repay those he wants to leave out.