Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2010

MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND VETERANS AFFAIRS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010 -- (House of Representatives - July 10, 2009)

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Mr. THOMPSON of California. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the great work that this chairman does on behalf of veterans. He's a true friend and has done so much for so many veterans, and I appreciate that.

Mr. Chairman, I just want you to know that I went to college on the GI Bill, and I voted for the Post-9/11 GI Bill with my experience in the GI Bill and in school and what it did for me in mind. And I did so to ensure that all veterans would have the same access to this great educational opportunity that I had.

Unfortunately, today in California, California veterans are being denied this important chance to get the college education so that they can have a better future. According to the Department of Veterans Administration, veterans living in California are entitled to zero dollars toward their private tuition bill, simply because California charges ``fees,'' not ``tuition,'' to attend college.

So because zero ``tuition'' is charged in California, according to the VA's tortured logic, zero tuition can be paid to veterans seeking to attend private schools in California.

This simple semantic difference means that nearly 5,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans residing in California, veterans who served our Nation honorably, are not eligible to receive financial assistance to attend the college of their choice. This is unlike every other Iraq and Afghanistan veteran in the other 49 States.

My California colleagues and I sent a letter to the VA requesting the Department fix this issue administratively. Six weeks later--6 weeks later they sent a two-paragraph response denying--denying our request.

This is not fair to our veterans, and Congress should not stand by as these brave men and women are denied the benefits they have earned.

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