Schumer: House Passes Legislation to Protect Post-9/11 Veterans' Tuition Benefits - Bill to Save Veterans from Drastic Cuts Scheduled for Senate Action Next Month

Press Release

New York Veterans Currently in School Are Set to Lose Thousands in Promised Tuition Assistance Under Upcoming Changes to GI Bill; Could Force Them to Drop Out

House of Representatives Passed Legislation Last Night, Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Scheduled To Take Up Bill In June

Schumer: We Shouldn't Change the Rules in the Middle of the Game; Vets Deserve Education They Were Promised

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the House of Representatives has passed their version of legislation that would protect tuition benefits for Upstate New York veterans that are set to be drastically reduced in August. Schumer, the bill's author in the Senate, also announced today that the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee is scheduled to mark up the bill in June. Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, passed in 2008, veteran students were eligible for full tuition benefits at public institutions, or they could receive up to the same benefit amount if attending a private institution. Thousands of veterans applied to and were accepted by private universities with the understanding that they would receive substantial assistance with their tuition costs. However, as a result of a 2010 law, benefits for students attending private institutions will be capped at $17,500 in the next academic year -- a potentially drastic cut that will cost hundreds of Upstate New York veterans thousands of dollars each year and could lead to unfinished programs or even force some students to drop out altogether. Schumer's legislation would allow those veterans who were receiving tuition benefits under the 2008 Post-9/11 GI Bill to keep the benefits they were promised at the time of their enrollment, before revisions were made to the law.

"This is a big step forward towards honoring the promises we made to thousands of brave men and women who served our country with incredible distinction," said Schumer. "The Post-9/11 GI Bill put us on the road towards ensuring that veterans who wanted to earn a college education could afford to do so. Changing the rules in the middle of the game is absolutely unacceptable, which is why I introduced legislation to protect those tuition benefits for soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am pleased the House has passed the bill, and will continue to work with my Senate colleagues to ensure that we get this bill on the President's desk as soon as possible."

The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, also known as the Post-9/11 GI Bill, significantly expanded the educational opportunities for veterans by helping pay for their tuition. Students could receive a tuition benefit up to the highest amount charged by a public university in their state, which varied widely from state to state. This resulted in disparities in the amount of tuition benefit that veterans received, with some students receiving less than ten thousand dollars per year in tuition. The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010 replaced that provision with a nation-wide maximum reimbursement rate of $17,500 for private institutions, scheduled to take effect in August 2011 that made scholarships more equitable for veterans across the country.

However, Schumer said that by failing to protect students already enrolled in school, this new law would rob thousands of veterans of the educational benefits that they counted on when making the decision to enroll in school. In New York, under existing rules, students at private institutions are able to receive up to $1,010 per credit hour (or $25,250 for a typical full-time academic year) because the amount was pegged to the cost of tuition at high-cost public universities. Under the revised rules, veterans at private institutions, as of August 2011, will only be allowed to receive $17,500 going forward. For veterans at many private institutions, that means thousands of dollars in higher tuition, forcing them to take on additional debt, transfer to different schools, or simply drop out altogether.

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