Better GI Bill urged to help bolster economy

[unhappycamper]

Better GI Bill urged to help bolster economy
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jan 28, 2008 16:53:16 EST

The head of a major veterans’ group says the White House and Congress should consider making major improvements in GI Bill education benefits as part of their planned $150 billion economic stimulus package.

“A new GI Bill would stimulate the U.S. economy significantly and go a long way toward helping our newest generation of heroes build a better life,” said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Rieckhoff said improving the GI Bill to help the overall economy is “one proven strategy for growth that no one is talking about.”

He was referring to the fact that the World War II GI Bill of Rights is widely credited with helping boost the U.S. economy at the end of the war.

“When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the original GI Bill in 1944, he ensured that 8 million World War II veterans would be able to afford an education,” Rieckhoff said. “It resulted in higher national productivity, consumer spending and tax revenue. Every dollar spent sending the Greatest Generation to college added seven dollars to our national economy.”


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/military_gibill_stimulus_080128w/



uhc comment: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America website --> http://iava.org/