Feds Oppose Bill To Expand School Benefits For Reservists
Last updated Wednesday, February 28, 2007 6:58 PM CST in News
By Fred Love
The Morning News
WASHINGTON -- Officials from the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs said Wednesday they do not support a bill that would expand education benefits for National Guard and Reserve troops.
They said the initiative could prove to be expensive and might hurt the miltary's efforts to retain soldiers.
The bill, sponsored by five House lawmakers including two from Arkansas, would allow reservists to take advantage of school loans and subsidies through the GI Bill for up to 10 years after leaving the military.
Currently, school benefits for Guard members and reservists end when they retire from the service.
The VA supports the intent of the bill but can't back it until its costs become clear, said Keith Wilson, VA education service director, told members of the House military personnel subcommittee.
Michael Dominguez, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said the bill may drive down retention rates in the National Guard and Reserves because soldiers will no longer need to re-enlist to continue to receive educational benefits.
"We need incentives that encourage our reservists to stay with us, not to leave," Dominguez said.
Second District Rep. Vic Snyder, R-Little Rock, chairman of the subcommittee and sponsor of the bill, said that while the measure may hurt retention, it would boost recruitment by offering more flexible education benefits.
Snyder said the current policy disrupts the education of many reservists and Guard members who have been deployed and can't continue their studies.
"People are being mobilized and then they come back and their enlistment is winding down. So they decide not to re-enlist and then their education benefit isn't there," Snyder said, adding that such situations are "just not fair" to the soldiers.
Wilson and Dominguez also opposed a provision that would shift GI Bill management from the Pentagon to the Department of Veterans' Affairs.
Wilson said the Department of Defense is better-equipped to handle the administering of "kickers," or bonuses used to recruit for unpopular positions.
Third District Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, is among the bill sponsors in the House. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., is backing a similar measure in the Senate.
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Doris_Wilson1@yahoo.com wrote on Mar 5, 2007 5:45 PM: