VA Loan Updates

The GI Bill, passed in 1944 and meant for veterans of World War II, is still benefiting veterans today, including many USU students.

Lillian Tripp, staff assistant for VA, said 175 to 200 USU students are getting the GI Bill at any one time. Any soldier in any branch of the military can get it.

They can get it for 36 months, and the amount they get depends on how many credits they are taking, Tripp said.

Nate Lowe, a sophomore majoring in Spanish, said he is receiving the GI Bill now, after he spent a year in Iraq.

With the GI Bill, Lowe said he has been able to attend school and focus on his studies instead of focusing on work. He also receives tuition assistance from the National Guard.

Many soldiers are able to attend school because they get money from the GI Bill.

“Some of them would not be able to go to school if they didn’t have this,” Tripp said. “It’s good for most people.”

Lowe said he would probably still be going to school without the GI Bill, but he would have to work a lot harder.

“I’d be a lot poorer,” Lowe said. “It makes life a lot easier. I’d probably have to be taking out loans. I haven’t had to take out any loans yet because of the benefits.”

The GI Bill has been called one of the most significant pieces of legislation ever produced by the federal government, but it didn’t come without controversy.

On June 22, 1944, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Servicemembers’ Readjustment Act of 1944, or the GI Bill of Rights. Although the original GI Bill ended in July 1956, the Montgomery GI Bill continues today.

According to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, people didn’t like the idea of paying unemployed veterans $20 a week because it was an incentive for them to not look for work. During a time when colleges and universities were reserved for the rich, people questioned sending veterans to school.

Others saw the GI Bill as an attempt to stop another depression. Soldiers coming home from World War I were given $60 and a train ticket home. Congress didn’t want to make that same mistake again, so they passed the GI Bill.

According to the VA, the soldiers who would have flooded the job market went to college instead. In 1947, veterans made up 49 percent of college admissions.

By the time the original GI Bill ended on July 25, 1956, 7.8 million of 16 million World War II veterans had participated in an education or training program. From 1944 to 1952, VA backed nearly 2.4 million home loans for World War II veterans.

In 1984, the GI Bill was restored and named the “Montgomery GI Bill” after a congressman from Mississippi.

“VA home loan guaranty and education programs continue to work for our newest generation of combat veterans,” according to the VA website.

The GI Bill was controversial when it began, but it has given a lot of people an incentive to join the military.

Lowe said it rewards the soldiers who have gone and served.

“I’m behind in school because I went [to Iraq],” Lowe said. “I gave up that time, so it’s kind of a reimbursement for that.”

Tripp said sometimes students don’t get enough money to pay for all of their schooling, but they get a stipend that helps them out. The soldiers who have been deployed and dependants of soldiers who were killed get considerably more money from the GI Bill.

“It’s an incentive for us to further our education,” Lowe said. “I think it’s a good idea.”

Even after spending a year in Iraq and six months in training, Lowe said he is glad he joined the Army.

“I’ve had to make some sacrifices,” Lowe said. “But I’ve been part of a bigger cause and I’ve set a foundation for school. I’d say it was worth it.”

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