FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 30, 2008

Contact:
Joshua D. Denton
910 922 6084

CONCERNED VETERANS MEET TO URGE ACTION ON 21ST CENTURY G.I. BILL AT GOODWIN PARK

Senator Webb's G.I. Bill will help veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, group of concerned veterans urge Senators Sununu and Gregg to support the bill
 
(Portsmouth, NH) – A group of concerned veterans met to discuss Senator Jim Webb's 21st Century G.I. Bill at Goodwin Park, mirroring a rally that took place in Washington D.C. yesterday. Senator Gregg and Senator Sununu have failed to support the G.I. Bill, and it is a growing concern to New Hampshire veterans. The group will meet to call on Senator Gregg and Senator Sununu to flat out reject the McCain substitute bill and support the 21st Century G.I. Bill.
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"We are here today to urge Senators John Sununu and Judd Gregg to support the 21st Century G.I. Bill sponsored by Senator Jim Webb.  The bill would expand educational benefits for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan," said Josh Denton an Iraq War veteran and the New Hampshire State Team Captain of VoteVets.org.  "It has gained the strong bipartisan support of 57 Senators and 240 members in the House.  In fact, every Senator from New England, including Republican Senators Olympia Snow and Susan Collins in Maine, are cosponsors of the bill."

"The Current Montgomery G.I. Bill was created for peacetime, and it simply doesn't live up to our nation's commitment to veterans," said Elias Abelson.  "After I served in the Korean conflict, I used the Korean G.I. Bill to pay for law school.  Updating the G.I. Bill for today's needs not only keeps our promise to veterans, it's good for our country.

Senator Webb of Virginia and Senator Hagel of Nebraska have cosponsored the bipartisan 'Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act.'  This revised G.I. Bill is similar to the original World War II G.I. Bill.  It will pay the full amount of the highest state college tuition in the veteran's home state and also offer a cost of living stipend.  Active Duty, National Guard, and Army reserve veterans would all be eligible for these benefits.

Senator McCain recently proposed an alternative to the 21st Century G.I. Bill.  The 'Enhancement of Recruitment, Retention, and Readjustment through Education Act' is a partisan bill that currently has only four cosponsors.  The McCain bill would create a flat education benefit that would not cover the cost of most state schools and would not be available to members of the National Guard or Reserves.  Senator McCain's bill could split the Senate, undermine the common-sense legislation that Senators Webb and Hagel are offering, and in doing so, undermines America's veterans.