Transcript: New GI Bill for New Generation of Veterans

“Two weekends ago, I toured the VA hospital on the Western Slope—the fact that some veterans had to travel four hours over the mountains to see a doctor actually tells me we’re not doing enough for our veterans.

The original GI bill is what allowed the greatest generation to build this country to what it is today. World War II veterans are still fighting for their promised benefits. The National Guard and reservists in Iraq and Afghanistan have had to carry an exceptional burden in this war.

The new GI Bill for the 21st century honors a commitment of multiple generations of veterans and military retirees, what the new bill does is it fully ends the disabled veteran’s tax which prevents veterans from collecting retirement and disability payments.

It fully ends the Military Families’ Tax, because families who lose their bread winner should be able to collect full survivors and retirement benefits. It also makes sure that our active duty troops have the equipment and resources they need. It improves educational benefits so that our military families have the opportunities when they return home.

A lot of these provisions seem like common sense, most people would be shocked that the problems even exist. For example, right now, when a soldier gets wounded in combat, he gets pulled out of the combat zone, and his pay is cut, because, technically, he is no longer in combat. It is simply wrong to cut someone’s pay because they were wounded in the line of duty. This bill would make sure that soldiers who are wounded continue to receive their combat pay until they recover from all of their injuries or are discharged as a veteran.

Veterans and military retirees face real problems - studies have shown that national guardsman and reservists lose more than 50% of their incomes because they were called to active duty. No one should have to worry about losing their homes because they served their country. This is a matter of priorities, benefits for veterans and military retirees should be at the top of the list. We need to find the money somewhere to make this legislation a reality. This bill includes legislation that already has bi-partisan support, so I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the isle so that this gets past.”