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After much debate and years of pushing, it looks like the proposed Post 9/11 GI Bill may soon make it out of Congress and head to the president’s desk.

This is great news for those of us who have been championing GI Bill reform and on the surface it appears to fix what ails the current Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB). It increases payment rates, extends the expiration date, and provides more benefits. But, on closer inspection, it appears it may miss the mark in some significant areas.

As with most new veteran benefit laws, the Post 9/11 GI Bill has some good, some bad, and some down right ugly aspects. The following is a brief look at each of these areas:

The Good

Increased payment rates for undergraduates – payment rates will be based on your current state of residence and will vary greatly.

Tuition is paid in lump sum for each term – this may relieve veteran tudents from having to make payments.

Provides a monthly stipend for books – this is a huge benefit, books can run in excess of $100 a copy for some courses.

Traditional on-campus students will be given a monthly check for living expenses – this payment will be set at the current E-5 with dependents.
Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) rate.

The bill will extend the deadline for using the benefit to 15 years – the current MGIB expires 10 years after leaving active-duty service.

Servicemembers who joined prior to June 1985 under the Veterans Education Assistance Program (VEAP) are eligible for benefits - the MGIB excludes most of these servicemembers.

No more pay-to-play enrollment fee – the MGIB requires members to pay $1,200 to enroll.

Anyone who has served on active-duty since Sept. 11, 2001 including activated members of the Guard and reserve are eligible – the current GI Bill has separate benefits for active-duty, Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR), and activated guard and reserve (REAP).

GI Bill transferability to family members is included - the details are still being worked out, but this has long been an issue for members of the military who would like to use their benefits to pay for their dependents education.

Provides benefits to those previously left out - the MGIB excluded most officers and those who opted out due to the $1,200 enrollment fee.

The Bad

Payment rates are set for undergraduate tuition rates – this could mean that veterans who wish to attend grad school will need to pay the difference out-of-pocket.

The basic allowance for housing is not available for students taking non-traditional classes – online and other distant learning students won’t receive payment for cost of living.

The Ugly

The new payment rates are based on length of post 9/11 service – The plan creates eight different payment levels, which will differ from state to state and the number of classes taken. Seen as a way of leveling the disparity between reserve and active –duty, this appears to create a new disparity based on the length of service, determined by an arbitrary, although historically significant, date.

For Example:
An active-duty veteran who served 10 years in the military, only 28 months of which occurring after 9/11, will only get 80 percent of the new payment rate.

A 20-year member of the Guard or Reserve who served a total of 2 years on active-duty, but with less than 6 months on active-duty since 9/11 will only get 40 percent of the new payment rate.

The Webb GI Bill is an entirely new VA Education benefit. Adding a new chapter to the GI Bill (Chapter 33) creates HUGE administrative issues:
May increase the current back-log of eligibility applications and increase the burden on the VA system.

Could result in an extended delay in paying these new benefits - slated to go into effect in August of 2009.

Does the Post 9/11 GI Bill fix the GI Bill? No, but on balance, the Post 9/11 GI Bill is a great improvement and for most eligible veterans, it is much better than the current VA Education programs.

One last note: As it is currently written, the Post 9/11 may not be an improvement for some veterans. Those of us who qualify for both the MGIB and the Post 9/11 GI Bill can elect to keep our current benefits and good news is the MGIB payment rate for 2008-09 is forecast to increase to $1,321 a month.