Forever G.I. Bill??????

How we doing hard-chargers… 

I thought I’d break down the changes to the G.I. Bill and give you a better understanding of how it affects veterans.

Now you may have heard of the G.I. Bill, as it was started in 1944, and is law passed that provides educational and other benefits for people who had served in the armed forces in World War II. Of course these benefits are still available today for those who serve and get out honorably.

Forever G.I. Bill

* Time Limits

One of the biggest changes would be the fact that the 15 year time limit has been removed for those using Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. This only goes into affect for veterans and dependents using transferred benefits, and they are eligible after January 1, 2018.

That means is you’re a veteran using the G.I. Bill  or active duty military planning to use the G.I. Bill or even a dependent of a veteran or active duty this does not apply to you.

As of now it still remains the same, pertaining to veterans, active-duty military, and dependents. As they still have 15 years from their discharge date to use up all their G.I. Bill benefits, or they will lose them.

* Reservists

Any Reservist called to active duty (When a Government request federal assistance in responding to a major disaster or emergency) are now eligible to use the new G.I. Bill.

Prior to only reservist called by the President as a result of a national emergency were eligible.This would apply to reservist who were mobilized after August 1 2009, Reservist can only receive payment for classes that start August 1st 2018.

* Dependents

Fry Scholarship recipients are now eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program.

Dependents Education Assistance (DEA) payments will increase to 50 percent, but the maximum number of months a dependent can get DEA decreases from 45 to 36 months and is effective Aug. 1, 2018.

Some changes will be made to the transferred Post-9/11 GI Bill to make it easier to reallocate transferred benefits if the sponsor or dependent passes away.

* Housing Allowance

Housing allowance is now based on the campus location where you attend classes.

* Institution Closings

For those attending a school that has closed or lost accreditation and you lose credit for the classes you took, you don’t have to pay back any G.I. Bill benefits you received at that school. It is not retroactive either.

* Benefit Tiers

G.I. Bill is currently based on the amount of active duty time you have. If one were to have less than 36 months of active duty you could possibly get less than the full amount. So the new law makes it where anyone who receives a Purple Heart will get the full G.I. Bill no matter how long they served active duty.

* STEM Classes

There is a huge emphasis on getting veterans enrolled in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) programs. The new G.I. Bill creates the

“Edith Nourse Rogers Scholarship.” 

 (Very important person, perhaps another post in itself)

This pays veterans $30,000 if they are enrolled in a STEM program, have used up all their G.I. Bill benefits, and have at least 60 semester/90 quarter hours credit toward a STEM degree, effective Aug. 1, 2018.

* Taxation

So from all of this we see clearly that more people are now eligible for the G.I. Bill, there is more types of training, and also more money paid to veterans.

This will be paid for by reducing the amount of monthly housing allowance the new users get.

A provision was  made in 2015 about slowing the increase of basic allowance housing, active duty no longer pays the full amount of the housing cost.

Active duty BAH is being reduced to 1 percent every year from 2015 to 2019, when 2020 hits BAH will only cover 95% of military members housing cost.

January 1st 2018, the G.I. Bill housing allowance will also decrease. So anyone eligible will get an average of about $100.00 less housing allowance.

Please feel free to let me know your thoughts about the new forever G.I. Bill, as I’ve already heard that a large majority of vets aren’t happy. Many feel this is nothing more than a recruiting scheme to get younger people to serve yet nothing is being done for the actual current Veteran.

Isaac J. Hall II

#SemperKill

Budget Proposal---> Veterans Pay Attention

Good day hard-charges,

So there is a proposal budget from the White House in the amount of $186.5 billion for Department of Veterans Affairs operations next year.

Which includes over $13 billion for medical care outside the VA and $3.6 billion in savings from benefits trims/cuts.

The proposal, was released Tuesday and is facing much criticism. The proposal does, however, represent a boost for the department, which over the last decade has seen annual increases. While other government agencies have seen funding reductions.

President Trump’s plan calls for a $4.4 billion increase in discretionary funding for the department. That is a 6 percent increase from fiscal 2017 levels, the $82 billion total discretionary request is nearly twice as large as the department’s entire budget in fiscal 2001.

There are some who feel the VA spending request reflects that veterans’ access to timely, high quality health care is one of the administration’s highest priorities.

It was also promised to focus on providing veterans with the most efficient and effective care and benefits, and proposes several trade offs to pay for program expansions.

The most dramatic to all of these would be an end to Individual Unemployability benefits payments. These payments go to retired veterans, this move is expected to save $3.2 billion next year alone and $41 billion over the next decade.

The Individual Unemployability program allows the VA to award payouts at the 100-percent disabled rate to veterans who cannot work due to service-connected injuries.

This is even if the veterans aren't deemed 100-percent disabled. The number of recipients have tripled since 2000, and numbers are upwards of 339,000 in the fiscal year of 2016.

President Donald Trump has proposed to stop payouts once veterans are eligible for Social Security retirement benefits. He argues that the practice amounts to the duplication of benefits. This proposal would impact more than 225,000 veterans receiving the payouts today.

Here is something else to be alarmed about, all veterans receiving benefits checks from the department would also be affected. Reason being is there is a plan to cut down cost-of-living increases to the nearest dollar, which was VA policy from the late 1990s until 2013.

Officials say the move would save $20 million in fiscal year 2018 and cost individual veterans $12 per year. This idea has lead to controversy in the past, and will most-likely face opposition from outside advocates.

Administration officials of the VA also hope to save another $42 million by capping GI Bill tuition payments to flight schools.

This is a provision which some veterans groups have supported in recent years. Tuition at these schools sometimes costs $100,000 a year. The new plan would limit payments to  $21,000 annually, the same as other private universities.

A large portion of these savings will go towards reauthorizing the controversial Choice Card program, which was established in 2014 and allows veterans to seek medical care outside VA if they meet certain eligibility requirements.

VA Secretary David Shulkin has promised an overhaul of the program later this year, but it needs congressional approval to go into effect. Administration officials have asked for $2.9 billion for the program in fiscal 2018 and $3.5 billion for the effort in subsequent years, lawmakers have questioned the usability of the program.

The budget calls for $8.4 billion for mental health care and $1.7 billion for homeless assistance programs.

Lawmakers will get their first input on the budget later today, as Shulkin testifies before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee on the funding request hearing.

I urge you all to pay attention and keep up with current events as many of you can and most likely will be affected weather it be good or bad.

Much success to you all my dear hard-chargers.

Isaac J. Hall II

#SemperKill