Issue Position: Honoring our Veterans

Issue Position

My grandpa, Ted Levin, served in WWII for the U.S. Army Air Forces as a gunner with the 867th Bomb Squadron. After fighting in the Pacific air offensive, he returned home and started a small business with my grandma. Grandpa was a true patriot who earned the programs and benefits he received by virtue of his service.

Our veterans need to know their Congressional representative will fight to protect this assistance. We are still allowing far too many veterans in need to fall through the cracks.

I will work to ensure that veterans get the same educational benefits whether they attend public or private institutions.

Moreover, we must close the "G.I. Bill loophole," which allows for-profit colleges to count military tuition assistance and G.I. Bill payments as private sources of funding, rather than as the government funds they actually are. For every dollar a for-profit school receives from "private" sources, it is eligible to accept $9 more in government funds supporting other students.

I will work to close this loophole and prevent for-profit schools from targeting active and veteran service members, their spouses and children for their money rather than for their academic potential. As argued by the National Military Family Association, "By eliminating this financial motivation for recruiting those using the G.I. Bill, educational institutions would have to focus on the quality of their educational offerings and the outcomes, to include on-time graduation rates and graduates' employability."

I believe the Department of Defense and other agencies should prioritize the hiring of veterans for construction projects, particularly as we consider large-scale improvements to our nation's infrastructure.

Finally, we must provide more veterans with affordable housing and homeless assistance programs. No veteran should return from service without a place to call home or the support of the community.

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