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P R E S S R E L E A S E - Wednesday September 27, 2006

Chairmen McHugh and Boozman assess educational benefits for Selected Reserve

Washington , D.C. — Today, the Military Personnel Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee and the Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity held a joint hearing to discuss expanded educational benefits for members of the Selected Reserve.

Military Personnel Subcommittee Chairman John McHugh (R-N.Y.), who opened the hearing, said, “Our discussion today is an important step in the process of making improvements to the education programs that serve our reserve forces. Reservists and Guardsmen are performing important roles in the war on terror and are making the same sacrifices as our active duty members. There is no group that deserves a robust GI Bill more than the members of the reserve components and the National Guard who have so expertly and gallantly stepped up and confronted our enemies across the globe.”

Representative John Boozman (R-Ark.), who chairs the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, also spoke about the importance of holding the hearing today and the impact education policies have on our overall national strategy. In opening remarks, he said that “while benefits such as the GI Bill directly benefit America’s active duty personnel and veterans, such programs serve a larger national policy that both protects us militarily and therefore improves the security of America.”

Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), testifying before the subcommittees, said that when the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) was signed into law, few members of the Selected Reserve were mobilized. However, since September 11, 2001, “more than 500,000 members of the National Guard and Reserve have been called up and more than 70,000 have pulled two or more tours of duty.”

Responding to a question posed by Chairman McHugh about the importance of retention as an aspect of the MGIB, Lincoln answered that she didn’t think retention was necessarily an issue, but added, “I think the bottom line is fairness. There is no reason why benefits should not be commensurate to the job that they are doing.”

According to Michael Dominguez, Principle Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, however, the educational benefit has been an enormous retention tool. “The Montgomery GI Bill for the Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR) has been a very effective recruiting and retention incentive.” He added, “We have not identified any significant shortcomings in the structure and utility of the MGIB-SR program. Until the joint task force completes its report and presents its findings to the DoD and Department of Veterans Affairs leadership, it is premature for DoD to take a position on any changes to the programs.”

Keith Wilson, director of education service at the Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, lauded the creation of the Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP), enacted in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2005. Responding to questions, Wilson said that the two subcommittees will be able to review the findings of the joint VA and DoD GI Bill working group report which will be released shortly.

Representing the Partnership for Veterans Education, retired Navy Vice Admiral Norbert Ryan, Jr., national president of the Military Officers Association of America, shared his support for the REAP program. He suggested that Congress expand the benefits for the Selected Reserve and address the benefits gap between the active duty and Reserve program. “A new architecture is needed to align the Montgomery GI Bill with the realities of the Total Force policy in the 21st Century,” he said. He also suggested that Reservists be allowed to retain their educational benefits up to ten years after leaving service. “No volunteer should be forced to stay in service in order to retain the benefits under the GI Bill,” he said.

Subcommittee members said they would continue to focus on benefits for military personnel and were receptive to improving and expanding the Montgomery GI Bill for the Selected Reserve.

“Our nation is confronted with military, economic, and social challenges and whatever path we choose must help our servicemembers meet each of those whether during their military service or as a civilian, just as their predecessors in the Greatest Generation did. To do otherwise will be a disservice to the nation,” said Chairman Boozman.

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Larry Scott

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