VA Loan Updates

The National Association of Realtors(R) testified today in Congress that the Veterans Home Loan Guaranty Program should continue to be a valuable asset in helping the nation’s veterans achieve the dream of homeownership in a way that is safe, fair and affordable.

“The VA Home Loan Guarantee Program is designed to provide favorable loan terms for veterans who are unable to qualify for a conventional loan,” said Tony Agurs, a member of the NAR Board of Directors and Realtor(R) from California who is a 21-year U.S. Marine Corps veteran. “The VA program offers unique and important benefits for helping our military families achieve the dream of homeownership,” Agurs said.

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You may have heard military advertisements offering college tuition as an inducement for young people to sign up. A Vermont man who fought in Iraq now claims that a military recruiter misled him about those education benefits.

Drew Cameron is 26 years old and finishing his last semester toward an undergraduate degree at the University of Vermont. Some, but not all, of his tuition is covered by the G.I. Bill, augmented by a cash bonus program. That’s hardly enough, he says, especially when he believed the recruiter who signed him up for the Army.

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Tammy Acosta served her country for nearly seven years in the Army, working as a signal intelligence analyst in the U.S. and abroad in Germany and Bosnia. Now she’s taking advantage of GI Bill benefits she earned to get a master’s degree in business administration from Troy University.

Acosta is among the growing ranks of veterans, including veterans of the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, taking advantage of the benefits they earned to complete their college education. Nearly 22 million veterans and dependents have used the GI Bill to pay for college since it was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1944. In recent years, about 300,000 veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have used the GI Bill, according to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Troy University is seeing an influx of veterans using the bill to attend college.

Alex McHahan, assistant director of financial aid and veterans affairs, said the number of veterans and eligible dependents attending college on the GI bill has increased by 25 percent over the past five years. (Spouses or children of military personnel killed or completely disabled as a result of their service are usually eligible for education assistance under the GI Bill.)

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This week, a delegation of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) visited Washington to tell lawmakers one thing: Our newest generation of veterans deserves real educational benefits that make college tuition affordable.

Now is the time for our Congress to take action on this and pass a 21st century GI Bill.

After World War II, attending college gave veterans time to readjust to civilian life and prepared them for careers as innovators and leaders. For every dollar spent on the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, seven went back into the economy in the form of increased productivity, consumer spending, and tax revenue.

Today’s GI Bill only covers part of the costs of college. Tuition costs have increased faster than inflation, and many veterans must take out student loans or forego education altogether.

In a time when we are asking so much of our Armed Forces, paying for college is one of the best ways to show our gratitude as a nation. Congress needs to pass a new GI Bill this year.

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As a House subcommittee reviews expired and expiring veterans programs, veterans groups are urging the lawmakers to strengthen employment and re-employment rights programs, extend an option for adjustable-rate veterans’ home loans, and restore a $100 cut in monthly payments for apprenticeships and on-the-job training.

Although 13 programs are being re-evaluated, the one getting the most attention is a lapsed test program that had top government lawyers involved in resolving employment and re-employment rights complaints from federal workers who also serve in military reserve components.

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Joseph Nannery of Fremont served eight years as a Marine before enlisting in the National Guard in 2001, and in March 2004, he was deployed as an infantry squad leader to Iraq.

When he returned home in February 2005, it had been 16 years since he attended school.

Working full time as a project analyst for a green residential building contractor in Santa Clara, he attends Ohlone College at night to fulfill his undergraduate requirements. He hopes to pursue a degree in environmental studies at San Jose State University. He would like to then earn a law degree.

But Nannery found that the GI Bill, set up after World War II to help veterans pay for college, was falling short.

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On the eve of the 62nd anniversary of the passing of the Rescission Act of 1946 Sunday (Feb. 17), Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho), said in an email that the “pension benefit (of S. 1315) is far too generous.” Sen Craig is one of the ranking members of the US Senate Veterans committee blocking the passage of the S. 1315 or the Veterans Benefits Enhancements Act.

The Senate bill, S. 1315, designed to repeal the law that took away the full benefits of Filipino World War II veterans is pending before the full Senate. However, Senator Craig disclosed to this reporter that he is “pleased to be an original co-sponsor of S. 2640″ introduced by Sen. Richard Burr (R - NC) last Feb. 14 “as an alternative to S. 1315″ because “it incorporates many of the very important provisions of S. 1315.”

He said the bill provides “retroactive payments of up to $100,000 to all disabled veterans who sustained severe injuries since the war on terror began, increased insurance coverage for severely disabled veterans under the Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance Program, and housing and auto grants to veterans with severe burns who require modifications to either their homes or vehicles.”

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As the war drags on in Iraq and Afghanistan, the men and women of our armed forces, both regular and reserve, are making extraordinary sacrifices to ensure our freedom and safety. We can support them - and help the economy - by supporting the passage of a new G.I. Bill, modeled after the World War II version.

That G.I. Bill created a major influx into the middle class and helped fuel the post-war economic recovery by putting higher education within the reach of millions for whom it was otherwise out of reach. Estimates I have seen say that every dollar spent on that G.I. Bill yielded a seven-fold return,

Most importantly, this generation of warriors deserves it. From the beginning of the current conflict, they (and their families) have borne the burden and all too often paid the ultimate price for their service to our country. The rest of us have been encouraged to “live our lives and keep the economy rolling.”

We should all support a new G.I. Bill because it is good for the country and good for our economic future. But most of all, support it because these men and women, who have given so much, deserve nothing less!

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Michael Ledeen calls for expanded educational benefits:

Why has no candidate or national leader called for dramatic improvement in the educational benefits of the G.I. Bill? All our commissioned officers have college degrees (bet you didn’t know that), but the non-coms need scholarships, and the officers should get the same for graduate and professional school. I’m sure David will agree. And the candidates should, too. If we really “support our troops,” this is a fine way to do well for our society by doing good for our heroes.

That reminds me of this wacky incident from Bush’s State of the Union address:

President Bush drew great applause during his State of the Union address last month when he called on Congress to allow U.S. troops to transfer their unused education benefits to family members. “Our military families serve our nation, they inspire our nation, and tonight our nation honors them,” he said.

A week later, however, when Bush submitted his $3.1 trillion federal budget to Congress, he included no funding for such an initiative, which government analysts calculate could cost $1 billion to $2 billion annually.

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President Bush says he wants education benefits to be transferable, but the idea doesn’t appear in his budget.

President Bush drew great applause during his State of the Union address last month when he called on Congress to allow U.S. troops to transfer their unused education benefits to family members. “Our military families serve our nation, they inspire our nation, and tonight our nation honors them,” he said.

A week later, however, when Bush submitted his $3.1 trillion federal budget to Congress, he included no funding for such an initiative, which government analysts calculate could cost $1 billion to $2 billion annually.

Bush’s proposal was added to the speech late in the process, administration officials said, after the president decided that he wanted to announce a program that would favor military families. That left little time to vet the idea, develop formal cost estimates or gauge how many people might take advantage of such a program. Some administration officials said the proposal surprised them, and they voiced concerns about how to fund it.

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