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May 10, 2000
ROCKEFELLER SUPPORTS GORE PLAN TO INCREASE GI BILL BENEFITS
WASHINGTON —U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), the highest ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, today commended Vice President Al Gore's leadership to increase Montgomery GI Bill benefits for veterans and members of the Armed Services. Gore announced today that he will lead the Administration's proposal to significantly improve the GI bill.
Rockefeller commented, "The Vice President's proposal will make a tremendous difference for servicemembers and veterans. Due to the dramatic rise in the cost of higher education, the value of the education benefits provided by the GI bill has slowly eroded over the years. I have long believed that we need to take steps that allow the benefit to catch up with the actual cost of education."
Costs of education have risen about 90 percent between 1980 and 1995, while GI bill benefits have failed to keep pace. Currently, the basic GI bill benefit pays only 54 percent of the average cost to attend a four-year public university. Meanwhile, the Pentagon says that the GI bill is one of the most frequent reasons recruits give for enlisting — and that the drop in the value of the benefit has contributed to the drop in military recruitment.
The Gore proposal would increase the basic education benefit by 25 percent in 2001, from $536 to $670 per month. This is the largest increase in GI bill benefits since the program began. Rockefeller continued, "I would have liked to do more, and we will do more. But this is an important first step, accomplished through the leadership of Vice President Gore.
"The importance of the GI bill benefit, both for maintaining a strong military and helping improve the lives of our veterans, cannot be overstated. The announcement today by Vice President Gore should help to build momentum in Congress to finally make real improvements in the GI bill benefit.
"I look forward to working with the Vice President and congressional leaders to make certain our military veterans get the full level of support they deserve."
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