VA Loan Updates

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.) According to McMahan, many of the veterans say that the bill needs to be updated. McMahan said that the veterans feel the bill isn't keeping up with growing college costs and that the bureaucracy involved with the bill needs to be streamlined to make it easier for veterans to take advantage of their benefits. According to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the current GI Bill only covers about 60 to 70 percent of the average cost of four years at a public college or university, and less than two years at a private institution. Acosta, who served in the Army from 1993 to 2007, says the benefits she earned by serving in the Army are adequate to pay her tuition and books at Troy University, and that because of an added benefit she opted for while serving, she also takes home some money after paying costs. However, Acosta doesn't like the fact that veterans must pay tuition costs up front before getting reimbursed by the bill. She also disagrees with rules requiring GI bill recipients to be enrolled in four classes at a time to get full time credit. Acosta says this excludes veterans who take courses under the college's mini-semester program, which counts students as full time if they take some classes during the first half of a semester and some during the second half. "If you're going full time they shouldn't pay by the class," she said. Bills to update the G.I. Bill are currently winding their way through the House and Senate. According to Mike Lewis, a spokesman for U.S. Congressman Terry Everett, R-Rehobeth, the House and Senate bills are very similar. The bills would likely cost an extra $2 billion per year and increase awards and extend benefits currently available only to full-time military personnel to National Guard reservists. Lewis said that although the bills are being sponsored by Democrats, Republicans have been supportive of legislation to increase veterans' benefits, and that after some work on the details, an updated GI Bill will likely garner bi-partisan support. The original bill covered tuition, fees and books and gave veterans a living stipend while they were in school. According to experts, the bill greatly expanded the middle class, giving the millions of men and women who served better job opportunities as a result of their education. A 1988 Congressional study found that every dollar spent on educational benefits under the original GI bill added seven dollars to the national economy. Found here. Sphere: Related Content