Bill Text: NJ SR88 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges Congress to expand Veterans Affairs education benefits to include veterans who received general discharge under honorable conditions.
Spectrum: Unknown
Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-08 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee [SR88 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-SR88-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator CARMEN F. AMATO, JR.
District 9 (Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Urges Congress to expand Veterans Affairs education benefits to include veterans who received general discharge under honorable conditions.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Senate Resolution urging Congress to expand the Veterans Affairs education benefits to include veterans who received a general discharge under honorable conditions.
Whereas, On June 22, 1944, President Roosevelt signed the "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944," more commonly referred to as the GI Bill, which provided World War II servicemen and servicewomen with a number of benefits, including then-unprecedented educational benefits; and
Whereas, The educational benefits, which included up to $500 of free tuition at colleges and vocational schools, as well as a cost of living stipend, proved to be wildly popular with World War II veterans accounting for 49 percent of students admitted to colleges in 1947; and
Whereas, In the years since, the educational benefits of the GI Bill have been expanded, most recently through the "Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act" in 2008, and the "Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act" in 2017; and
Whereas, While the benefits of the GI Bill have been expanded over the years, one issue remains the same: veterans who received a general discharge under honorable conditions are ineligible to receive the educational benefits provided under the GI Bill, despite retaining eligibility for all other veterans benefits; and
Whereas, Unlike a dishonorable discharge, the cause of which includes crimes such as desertion, murder, and fraud, a general discharge under honorable conditions signifies that while a veteran's overall military performance was considered satisfactory, or even exemplary, other factors, such as failure to meet certain standards or minor disciplinary actions, resulted in the discharge; and
Whereas, Additional factors that may potentially lead to a general discharge under honorable conditions, such as being considered either overweight or under-strength, highlight how minor the conditions may be to trigger this type of discharge; and
Whereas, The educational benefits of the GI Bill remain popular, and in the years since its inception, the GI Bill has been expanded to include the ability to transfer educational benefits to children and spouses, as well as the removal of the initial 15-year limit on using the benefits, increasing their accessibility; and
Whereas, The minor infractions that may lead to a general discharge should not prevent the servicemen and servicewomen, who freely enlisted to serve their country, from accessing the educational benefits promised to them, their children, and their spouses; and
Whereas, Given the nature of the discharge, and the popularity of the educational benefits provided through the GI Bill, it is altogether fitting and proper to respectfully request that Congress expand the current educational benefits to include the servicemen and servicewomen who received a general discharge under honorable conditions; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House respectfully requests that Congress expand the Veterans Affairs educational benefits to include veterans who received a general discharge under honorable conditions.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, every member of Congress elected from this State, and the Secretary of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges Congress to expand the Veterans Affairs education benefits to include veterans who received a general discharge under honorable conditions.
On June 22, 1944, President Roosevelt signed the "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944," more commonly referred to as the GI Bill, which provided World War II servicemen and servicewomen with a number of benefits, including then-unprecedented educational benefits. The educational benefits, which included up to $500 of free tuition at colleges and vocational schools, as well as a cost of living stipend, proved to be wildly popular with World War II veterans accounting for 49 percent of students admitted to colleges in 1947.
In the years since, the educational benefits of the GI Bill have been expanded, most recently through the "Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act" in 2008, and the "Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act" in 2017. Yet, while the benefits of the GI Bill have been expanded over the years, one issue remains the same: veterans who received a general discharge under honorable conditions are ineligible to receive the educational benefits provided under the GI Bill, despite retaining eligibility for all other veterans benefits.
Unlike a dishonorable discharge, the cause of which includes crimes such as desertion, murder, and fraud, a general discharge under honorable conditions signifies that while a veteran's overall military performance was considered satisfactory, or even exemplary, other factors, such as failure to meet certain standards or minor disciplinary actions, resulted in the discharge. Additional factors that may potentially lead to a general discharge under honorable conditions, such as being considered either overweight or under-strength, highlight how minor the conditions may be to trigger this type of discharge.
The education benefits of the GI Bill remain popular, and in the years since its inception, the GI Bill has been expanded to include the ability to transfer educational benefits to children and spouses, as well as the removal of the initial 15-year limit on using the benefits, increasing their accessibility.
The minor infractions that may lead to a general discharge should not prevent the servicemen and servicewomen, who freely enlisted to serve their country, from accessing the educational benefits promised to them, their children, and their spouses.
