Contact your Senators to Reject the McCain-Graham-Burr GI Bill

A Call To Action!

by Major Robert L. Hanafin, U.S. Air Force-Retired  

My gut feeling is like all else Congress does when it comes to seriously supporting America’s Veterans members of Congress will vote along party lines to either be fair or CHEAP!

How many members of Congress have continuously tried to sell the War on Terror on terms comparable to the sacrifice of World War II? It is way past time for them to put YOUR GI Bill where their mouth is. (See Links below to THE GI Bill, compare it to what’s being offered then decide if the War on Terror is on par with WWII).

We are writing to demand that you not support the McCain-Graham-Burr substitute to S.22, the Webb-Hagel Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act.

Senator Voinovich, you attended Ohio State University for both your B.A., and J.D.

Senator Brown, you attended Yale to get your BA in 1974, and Ohio State for your MPA and MA (1979 & 1980) You have also been a strong proponent against the rising cost of education for all students in Ohio who intimately knows the cost and how hard it is to get in an Ivy League School when you are not the child of priviledge.

Your support for THE BEST GI Bill for America’s 21st century Vets is a GIVEN.

http://www.votesmart.org/bio.p…

http://media.www.thelantern.co…

     Senator Webb of VA, attended the University of Southern California (USC) then went onto the Naval Academy in 1968. He attended Georgetown University Law Center in 1975 to get his law degree. Like you gentlemen, he has also been a strong proponent against the rising cost of education for all students in Virginia, He also  intimately knows the cost and how hard it is to get in a Law School like Georgetown.

     Senator McCain, whos father was an Admiral got his B.S., at the U.S. Naval Academy and attended the National War College on tax payer funding. For him to offer any alternative GI Bill that is not equal or superior to you gentlemen is beyond us. http://www.senate.gov/referenc…

     As parents of a youngster who served in Bosnia and Iraq, and attended various junior and 4-year colleges pursuing ROTC, WE view the McCain-Graham-Burr bill to be an affront to our child and all veterans, and would consider you to be willing to undermine our nation’s veterans if you support it.

      Being a Veteran of both Vietnam and the Gulf War, I would not have been able to go to college and get my commission if not for the Vietnam Era GI Bill. The Webb-Hagel version is closer to meeting the needs of our Iraq and Afghanistan generation of Vets. Major Robert L. Hanafin benefactor of THE GI BILL.

     It is both a national disgrace and shame that politicians, most who never wore a uniform,  haggle over ANY BENEFITS for our Veterans, but it is far more discouraging when those politicians are Veterans given the precious few Military Veterans in Congress.

      The Webb-Hagel bill now enjoys the support of nearly every veterans’ group, including VoteVets.org, and 57 Senators from both sides of the aisle.  That is with good reason – it is a common-sense, well-crafted piece of legislation that honors our veterans.

      The McCain-Graham-Burr bill falls flat, and undermines America’s veterans as they reach for the American dream:

1) The McCain-Graham-Burr legislation creates a flat education benefit, not taking into account the cost of state colleges where veterans live, OR THE RISING COST OF TESTBOOKS AND RELATED NON-TUITION FEES. This means that  veterans in states where the cost of education is higher than the benefit would have go to into debt, and if married work full-time, to get an education, or uproot themselves and their families to move to a place where the benefit would cover college. Many would be forced into community colleges just to afford access to higher education. This is not a plan to ignite prosperity during or after victory in Iraq or the War on Terror.  

     The Webb-Hagel Bill determines the education benefit based on the highest state college tuition in a veterans’ home state, even though an obsticle remains to access to Private and Ivy League schools attended by students who prefer not to serve our nation, this will at least allow veterans to come home and get some form of higher education, without upheaval in their lives. One approach universally benefits all Veterans of the current war as the other poses a hurtle to getting into the best colleges and univerities. Community colleges and public, state run 4-year colleges would benefit from the McCain-Graham-Burr plan BUT NOT AMERICA’S VETERANS who would be discouraged from attending any Private or Ivy League school and be limited to either community colleges or the cheapest state schools.

2) The McCain-Graham-Burr legislation creates second-class veterans, by offering those who serve in the military for 12 years the chance to transfer their education benefits to their children. This says to a veteran who serves for two years and loses both of his legs in combat that his service isn’t as valuable as someone who has served for longer. In addition the VA already allows this for spouses of those too disabled to attend college 100% service-connected plus other criteria that could be expaned to cover children up to a certain age cut off.

3) The McCain-Graham-Burr legislation leaves the National Guard and Reserve out in the cold. In the current conflicts, the National Guard and Reserve have served faithfully alongside their active duty compatriots, and deserve equal benefits. In fact, the Guard and Reserve has provide far more international service than any past time in U.S. History except maybe WWII and Korea. We can understand how Vietnam Vets in Congress may not want to approve such benefits for Vietnam Era Guard members, but the wartime/combat service of today’s National Guard cannot be compared to that war. Yet, the McCain bill does nothing to reward our Guard and Reservists for their cumulative service. Under the McCain bill, over 160,000 members of the Guard and Reserves who have done more than one tour in Iraq or Afghanistan would get no credit towards an education for their additional sacrifice.

      A fair education benefit is a sacred promise made to America’s military after World War II.  That promise, just like health care and compensation for disabilieis, has been allowed to become outdated and tarnished via lack of serious action, even by Veterans. Only the Webb-Hagel bill will restore its luster. And, for that reason, it is the only acceptable bill to America’s veterans, and to me.

      WE urge you to oppose the McCain-Graham-Burr legislation, and support S. 22 – the Webb-Hagel Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act.

Major & Mrs. Robert L. Hanafin

Robert L. Hanafin

Readers are more than welcome to use the articles I’ve posted on Veterans Today, I’ve had to take a break from VT as Veterans Issues and Peace Activism Editor and staff writer due to personal medical reasons in our military family that take away too much time needed to properly express future stories or respond to readers in a timely manner.

My association with VT since its founding in 2004 has been a very rewarding experience for me.

Retired from both the Air Force and Civil Service. Went in the regular Army at 17 during Vietnam (1968), stayed in the Army Reserve to complete my eight year commitment in 1976. Served in Air Defense Artillery, and a Mechanized Infantry Division (4MID) at Fort Carson, Co. Used the GI Bill to go to college, worked full time at the VA, and non-scholarship Air Force 2-Year ROTC program for prior service military. Commissioned in the Air Force in 1977. Served as a Military Intelligence Officer from 1977 to 1994. Upon retirement I entered retail drugstore management training with Safeway Drugs Stores in California. Retail Sales Management was not my cup of tea, so I applied my former U.S. Civil Service status with the VA to get my foot in the door at the Justice Department, and later Department of the Navy retiring with disability from the Civil Service in 2000.

I’ve been with Veterans Today since the site originated. I’m now on the Editorial Board. I was also on the Editorial Board of Our Troops News Ladder another progressive leaning Veterans and Military Family news clearing house.

I remain married for over 45 years. I am both a Vietnam Era and Gulf War Veteran. I served on Okinawa and Fort Carson, Colorado during Vietnam and in the Office of the Air Force Inspector General at Norton AFB, CA during Desert Storm. I retired from the Air Force in 1994 having worked on the Air Staff and Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon.