VA Loan Updates

When he signed the G.I. Bill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared it "gives emphatic notice to the men and women in our armed forces that the American people do not intend to let them down." Today, we have the opportunity to send that same notice to the over 12,000 brave Tennesseans that have risked their lives for our country in Iraq and Afghanistan. The General Assembly is currently considering the Helping Heroes Act. This legislation, sponsored by the House and Senate Democratic Caucuses, uses funds from the Tennessee Education Lottery to create a grant program for Tennessee veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The program will provide these veterans with $1,000 per semester for full-time attendance at approved state colleges and universities and will supplement benefits they receive from the G.I. Bill. In effect, the Helping Heroes Act makes a public college education virtually free for these veterans. Some may wonder why veterans need a supplement to the G.I. Bill, and the answer is simply that those benefits no longer cover the cost of a college education in Tennessee. According to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, current GI Bill benefits only cover 60 to 70 percent of the cost of a public school education and 32 percent of a private school education. What most disturbs us is that veterans are left to cover the remaining expenses out of their own pockets. The intent of the G.I. Bill is to provide our veterans with a free college education in return for the service they give our country. Leaving them to pay for college out of their own pockets runs counter to this intent. When President Roosevelt signed the G.I. Bill, he opened a door of opportunity to millions of America's veterans of the "Greatest Generation." Unfortunately, our veterans returning home today from Iraq and Afghanistan are not getting the same level of compensation for their service. We can fix this unfortunate situation with the passage of the Helping Heroes Act. By now, everyone is well aware that the lottery has generated a surplus of over $400 million, and everyone is aware of the ideas being thrown around for using that surplus. Democrats in the House and Senate firmly believe that the voters of Tennessee chose to create the lottery for one primary purpose - to help more Tennesseans attend college by offering them scholarships. In all fairness, there are numerous proposals for worthwhile scholarships, but is there any better purpose for surplus lottery funds than helping our veterans gain the skills they need to be successful in today's world? Aren't these scholarships just one small way to tell our veterans thank you for the sacrifices they made for all of us? We hear a lot of talk about supporting our troops, but sometimes we have to wonder if that support continues after our troops leave the battlefield. The Helping Heroes Act is one way we can show our veterans we're there for them when they come home. Found here. Sphere: Related Content