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WASHINGTON - This week, we commemorate the 61st anniversary of the G.I. Bill. The bill was enacted in 1944 to support our troops returning from World War II with educational benefits, home loans and medical assistance. This legislation greatly impacted my life.
I was a high school dropout when I first enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1948. After serving in Korea, where I was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star, I came back home in 1952 with no idea of what to do next. I had achieved the rank of Sergeant, but now I found myself frustrated, pushing hand trucks in New York's garment district, just as I had before I was deployed to Korea. Desperate for help, I went to the Veterans Administration where I learned the government would pay for my education under the G.I. Bill. I decided to finish high school and to pursue a higher education and a law degree. The rest is history.
Almost 8 million veterans went to college as a result of the original G.I. Bill and we owe today's veterans that same opportunity tailored to today's needs. Today, there are Charlie Rangels from all over the country who don't know what they will be doing when they return from serving. They enlisted with the hope of a better way of life by getting an education through the G.I. Bill. More than one million men and women have served so far in Iraq and Afghanistan. These troops have put their lives on the line for our country, and we owe them nothing less than a new and improved G.I. Bill.
The new G.I. Bill recently introduced by Democrats in Congress, if passed, would improve benefits for our men and women serving today and meets the needs of veterans and military retirees.
To help our soldiers take part in our economy and help recruit new service members, the new G.I. Bill would provide the full cost for college or job training for those who serve four or more years of active duty. It would also provide $1,000 bonuses to the nearly 1 million troops who have been placed in harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan. The new G.I. Bill also honors our National Guard and Reserve by expanding military health care to cover all reservists, making sure they do not suffer a pay cut while deployed and improving incentives for recruitment and retention.
For military retirees and the families of those who died in the line of duty, the package would eliminate the Disabled Veterans Tax, allowing disabled veterans to receive disability compensation along with their retirement pension. It would also do away with the Military Families Tax which penalizes survivors, mostly widows, of those killed as a result of combat from injuries sustained in service. These widows lose their survivor benefits if they receive compensation because their spouse has died of a service-connected injury. If passed, the bill would also improve veterans' health care.
Like me, most of today's volunteers are from economically depressed urban and rural areas with high rates of unemployment. Enticed by enlistment bonuses up to $20,000, they look at the military as an economic opportunity. In effect, they are subject to an economic draft. This is why I appealed to President Bush to call on all Americans to share the burden of war.
I oppose the war in Iraq, whose justifications have all been proven false. I strongly support the troops, whose job is not to question the legitimacy of the war, but to follow the orders they are given. We must see to it that we show them how much we appreciate their sacrifice.
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