Last month, congressional Dems and the Bush White House fought over whether to give U.S. troops a pay increase for 2008. Dems fought for a 3.5% raise,
August 9, 2007

Last month, congressional Dems and the Bush White House fought over whether to give U.S. troops a pay increase for 2008. Dems fought for a 3.5% raise, Bush insisted that was too generous. The “pro-military” president thought the troops could get by with less.

This month, congressional Dems and the Bush White House are at it again, this time over educational benefits for those who wear the uniform. Take a wild guess who wants to do more for the troops.

The Bush administration opposes a Democratic effort to restore full educational benefits for returning veterans, according to an official’s comments last week.

Senate Democrats, led by Virginia’s Jim Webb, want the government to pay every penny of veterans’ educational costs, from tuition at a public university to books, housing and a monthly stipend.

The G.I. Bill has been neglected in recent years, and with no lengthy wars with major troop deployments in decades, there’s been minimal political pressure to keep the education benefits at full-strength. As of now, veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan can expect the federal government to cover only 75% of their tuition costs.

Dems and veterans’ advocates believe that’s not enough. The Bush administration is unmoved. What a surprise.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon