Boozman Seeks to Improve Vet Education Benefits

Press Release

Boozman Seeks to Improve Vet Education Benefits

Today, the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity heard testimony on a number of bills aimed at improving education benefits for active duty service members and members of the National Guard and Reserve forces.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) education and training benefits provide veterans and surviving dependents with the opportunity to improve their vocational and financial status. The original GI Bill has been credited with helping millions of veterans achieve the American dream of home ownership and raising the economic standing of the entire nation following WWII.

Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR) reiterated his long-standing concern that only about seventy percent of eligible veterans take advantage of the benefit they have earned. He noted that many veterans who do not utilize the GI Bill fail to do so because they are unaware of the types of education and training that are available. Boozman also expressed resolve to make education benefits more flexible as a means to increase use by members of the Guard and Reserves.

"Members of the National Guard and Reserves are no longer weekend warriors. They continue to serve a front-line role in the War on Terrorism. I hope we can find a way to improve their benefits in a way that reflects their expanded contribution to our nation's defense," Boozman said. "Doing so will benefit individual members of the Guard and Reserve, and our nation as a whole."

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