GIJOBs

OCT 2017

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28 G.I. JOBS | OCTOBER 2017 | GIJOBS.COM $30,000 SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS ADDITIONAL 6) FUNDING FOR STEM DEGREES Eligible student veterans pursuing a STEM degree could get some love from the VA, which will provide additional GI Bill funds through a scholarship if they are halfway through a STEM degree and are in danger of exhausting their GI Bill benefits before completing the program. The scholarship funds an additional nine months, up to $30,000. "The Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, also known as the Forever GI Bill, was a major bipartisan win for veterans," said Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-Pa. The government will pay the estimated $3 billion cost of the new legislation by reducing the Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) stipend by 1 percent over the next five years. This will apply only to service members who enroll in GI Bill benefits after Jan. 1, 2018, and will bring the MHA in line with the military's Basic Hous- ing Allowance. The Forever GI Bill allocates $30 million to the VA to upgrade its technology so it can admin- ister the new provisions. Curtis Coy, deputy under secretary of economic opportunity for the VA, sent an email to student veter- ans after the president signed the Forever GI Bill, promising to update them on the agency's progress. "As you can imagine, the VA has a lot of work ahead of us in order to ensure successful imple- mentation of this new law, and as we roll out each provision, we'll keep you updated and informed on our progress," he said. Coy said the Forever GI Bill is a major win for this generation of military and veterans. "We see Congress's over- whelming bipartisan support and the president's signing as a major accomplishment for our nation's veterans," he said. "The original GI Bill has long been considered an enormous success by histori- ans, politicians and economists for its impact on the post-war economy and capital investment in our' Greatest Generation.' The passage of this bill ensures that generations to come will con- tinue to walk in that greatness." "The Forever GI Bill assures our current and future service members they will have the same educational opportunities as our World War II veterans which created the greatest social change in the second half of 20th century America," says Bill Offutt , vice president of government affairs for Victory Media and a Vietnam veteran. "The new law also acknowledges that not all our 9/11 veterans were served equally by the original legislation. 'Forever' means that our veterans will never be forgotten!" 90/10 LOOPHOLE: BIG MISS? Lawmaker says Forever GI Bill didn't go far enough to protect student veterans. CONGRESS GREATLY EXPANDED Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits for Amer- ica's veterans when it passed the Forever GI Bill in August 2017. A key provision in the new law restores lost GI Bill benefits to student veterans whose school abruptly closes. That retro- actively includes thousands of student veterans whose GI Bill benefits were wasted when two school chains closed or were sold in 2015 and 2016. The sudden clo- sure of the large for-profit chains left many student veterans with no degree to show for the military edu- cation benefits they used. The provision in the Forever GI Bill will protect future student veterans similarly affected by sud- den closures. Despite the provision, at least one lawmaker says Congress missed a chance to close a loophole in federal educa- tion regulations that encour- ages for-profit schools to aggressively recruit military and veterans. "I was disappointed that the 90/10 loophole was not addressed in the Forever GI Bill," says Sen. Dick Durbin, the number two Democrat in the Senate. "I supported the bill, but did not believe it went far enough to provide the type of protections we owe to our service members and the kind of institutional ac- countability that taxpayers deserve." The loophole revolves around the 90/10 rule added to the Higher Educa- tion Act of 1998. That rule requires at least 10 percent of a for-profit school's rev- enue to come from sources other than Title IV funds – federal financial aid. The rule is designed to ensure that students, communities, employers and states have enough confidence in the quality of education of a school that they are willing to invest their own money in a degree or credential. It also aims to prevent for- profit schools from deriving 100 percent of their income from federal taxpayers. BY DAN FAZIO

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