The U.S. Senate paid a fitting tribute to members of the armed services last week by expanding education benefits for veterans.
The proposed new G.I. Bill is a statement that those who go to war for their nation deserve generous help with paying for college.
While troops have been serving multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of their civilian peers have had the opportunity to complete college and embark on careers.
The improved legislation provides assistance equal to the cost of tuition, fees and books at the most expensive public university in a service member’s state. Benefits for National Guard and Reserve members would be comparable.
Current benefits for enlisted personnel cover about 65 percent of the average cost of attending a four-year public university, and less than two years at a typical private college. Reservists and National Guard members receive much less.
President Bush has threatened to veto the legislation. His concern is that service members will opt for college instead of re-enlisting.
That’s a poor argument. It’s unfair to expect the same service members to fight America’s wars indefinitely while everyone else goes on with their lives.
In any case, improved education benefits are likely to help recruit ambitious young people into the armed services.
A more valid concern is the cost, estimated at $51 billion over 10 years.
At the insistence of fiscally conservative Democrats, the House had written in a tax on upper-income people to pay for the benefits. That provision was stricken in the Senate.
As the bill returns to the House, leaders of the two chambers must agree on a way to pay for the new G.I. Bill. Then they should pass it by a veto-proof margin.
