VA Loan Updates

The $1,200 enrollment fee for GI Bill benefits would be waived for junior enlisted members and everyone in the military would get a second chance to enroll in the education benefits program under a bill introduced by Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb. Terry is not the first lawmaker to propose waiving the fee, but his proposal is slightly different because it targets only troops in paygrades E-5 and below. His second chance at enrollment also is aimed, primarily, at junior enlisted members who could take advantage of no longer having to pay for the benefits program. His bill, HR 1969, is called the Montgomery GI Bill Improvement Act of 2007. It was referred to two House committees — armed services and veterans’ affairs — that are both looking at updating the GI Bill, with waiver of the fee one of the actions being considered. The $1,200 fee, established when the Montgomery GI Bill was created in 1985, is paid in $100 installments during the first year of service for most people. Some reservists who completed two or more years of active-duty service can enroll in the program later in their careers, but other service members are required to make an irrevocable decision about enrolling during their initial military training. “The $100 per month enrollment fee required for participation in the GI Bill sets up an unnecessary barrier to educational opportunities for enlisted military families trying to make ends meet and care for their children,� said Terry. Current and former military members, public housing organizations and groups advocating on behalf of military families have called for eliminating the fee, he said. One of the reasons the fee has remained in place, despite some misgivings about the idea of having to pay for a veterans’ benefit, is that more than 90 percent of enlisted recruits sign up for the GI Bill during basic training, which seems to show that the charge is not a big discouragement. But Terry said having the fee works against service members with families who “struggle to meet their basic needs and the needs of their children.� The second chance to sign up for GI Bill benefits proposed by Terry would have no penalty and no enrollment fee for E-5s and below. Sphere: Related Content