Senate Passes Webb GI Bill

The Senate overwhelmingly approved a landmark increase in college aid to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan today.

President Bush has promised to veto the legislation, championed by Sen. Jim Webb, a Democrat. But the 75-22 margin, more than the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, suggests momentum in favor of the Webb bill may be unstoppable.

Along with the enhanced GI Bill, which would provide a monthly stipend for living expenses plus tuition aid equal to the most expensive public college in each veteran's home state, the legislation approved today provides new aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast.

Republicans attempted to sweeten an alternative GI bill endorsed by the Bush administration.

The alternative bill, unveiled Wednesday by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr , would reward those who have served since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks while encouraging them to extend their service.

Which GI Bill do you Back?

The debate over the two bills has grown intense, with one veterans' group running television commercials attacking Sen. John McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee, for supporting the less generous measure.

In the ad, VoteVets.org accuses McCain of wanting to cover only "a fraction" of veterans' college costs. "We didn't give a fraction in Iraq. We gave 100 percent," the commercial added, urging voters to call McCain and tell him to support the other bill, crafted principally by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.

Webb's bill would provide a monthly cost-of-living stipend and cover the full cost of in-state tuition at a public college for veterans who have completed just one three-year hitch in the military since the Sept. 11 attacks.

The benefit, approved by the House last week, is tailored to roughly match the original GI bill, which financed the college educations of more than 7 million World War II veterans.

Graham contended that would give thousands of troops needed in the war on terrorism a new incentive to leave the military.

"I am not going to sit on the sidelines and, under feel-good politics, create a new program that will result in hurting retention at a time when America desperately needs to increase the ability to retain this force," he said.

The high-profile debate over Webb's proposal has given the freshman senator a national profile and attracted the attention of veterans' organizations with hundreds of thousands of members. It's also led to speculation, brushed aside by Webb again Wednesday, that he's angling for the Democratic nomination for vice president.

Much of Wednesday's discussion on the legislation focused on provisions dealing with the "transferability" of college aid from service members to their dependents. Graham and Burr argued that benefits should increase as a service member's time in uniform increases and that vets should gradually gain the right to shift all or part of their education benefits to a spouse or children.

Webb said that he and co-sponsors, including fellow Virginian John Warner, a Republican, have agreed to a pilot program to let service members who commit to spending 10 years in the military transfer a portion of their college aid to a spouse or children after four years of service.

Graham and Burr said Wednesday that their plan would revoke a $1,200 enrollment fee assessed on service members who participate in the current Montgomery GI bill college aid program. The Webb proposal also would end the fee.

Under the Montgomery plan, after six years -- two enlistments for most troops -- participants are eligible for $1,100 per month in tuition aid, plus a $500 annual allowance for books.

Graham and Burr said Wednesday that their revised bill would increase the monthly benefit to $1,500 for most participants and bump it up to $2,000 for those who stay in uniform for 12 years or more. Their new proposal also would provide some aid to veterans with as little as two years in uniform, a provision that drew muted criticism from Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates believes "two years is too soon" to provide college aid and would encourage some troops to quit the military, Morrell said.

Graham and Burr said Wednesday that their revised plan would cost taxpayers $38 billion over 10 years, $13 billion less than the cost of Webb's bill.

Congressional Democrats have proposed a 0.5 percent surtax on those earning more than $500,000 to finance the Webb plan. Graham and Burr said they would offset their proposal's cost with a 0.5 percent across-the-board cut in other federal spending.

Webb aides quickly pointed out that such a cut would take a bite out of other federal aid programs for veterans.

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