The GI Bill needs beefing up

The only combat U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan should be facing is our enemies overseas, not the Republican Party here at home.

Unfortunately, Republicans don’t think our veterans deserve a college education to help them assimilate into post-war life.

The new GI Bill, modeled after the original GI Bill from World War II, provides a full ride college education for veterans. This includes tuition, books and a living stipend.

“It gives emphatic notice to the men and women in our armed forces that the American people do not intend to let them down,” wrote President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a statement about signing the original GI Bill.

Thank goodness there was enough fortitude in the House to pass the new GI Bill this past week, despite the Republicans who have decided to let our service men and women down.

The GI Bill is attached to an emergency war supplemental bill. President Bush stated that he intends to veto this when it comes to his desk.

Democratic Sen. Jim Webb, of Virginia, who’s been working on this bill since he took office 15 months ago, pointed out on Meet the Press on past Sunday that no president in history has ever vetoed a benefits package for veterans.

Here at home, our Republican representatives apparently don’t think soldiers from our state deserve to attend the University of Washington or any of our other fine state schools.

Doc Hastings, Cathy McMorris Rogers and Dave Reichert voted against the new GI Bill this past week. That’s three Washingtonians voting against Washington state’s 700,000 veterans.

As if Republican philosophy weren’t backward enough, Reichert is on the list of sponsors in favor for the bill. He’s the meat in a liberal Democratic sandwich. You can find his name below “Jim McDermott” and above “Adam Smith.”

I called the congressman’s office to request an explanation for his vote. As of press time, he has neither called nor written back with an explanation. This is an election year, and his seat is the most vulnerable in the country. He should remember that talking with constituents, rather than hosting fundraisers, is the way to win elections.

Paul Rieckhoff, executive director and founder of “Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America,” is also frustrated with this backward Republican philosophy.

“The fiscal conservative argument seems even more ludicrous once you realize that even five years of spending on the GI Bill would only cost as much as nine weeks of war in Iraq,” Rieckhoff wrote in an editorial.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is worried that retention rates of soldiers will drop because they will want to access their education benefits and the number of active soldiers will go down. However, this new GI Bill would encourage more men and women to voluntarily enlist.

The Senate passed the new bill Thursday 75-22, so the next move is up to President Bush.

If there can be only one presidential veto override against Bush, it should be on the GI Bill. Bush is perpetually screwing our soldiers. It’d be nice if Congress would break his middle fingers so he can no longer flip off our troops.