VA Assistant Secretary Raises Awareness About Post-9/11 GI Bill

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Tammy Duckworth, the assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, made a successful visit to Vermont to promote the Post-9/11 GI Bill and meet with veterans.

“The Post-9/11 GI Bill throws open the doors of the country’s colleges and university to Veterans,” Duckworth said.  “The Department of Veterans Affairs is working with those educational institutions to help Veterans improve their lives through education.”

Duckworth attended an awareness-raising event at Champlain College, in Burlington, with Rep. Peter Welch. She also traveled to Rutland to participate in a roundtable discussion at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill, passed by Congress last year, is the most extensive educational assistance program authorized since the original GI Bill was signed into law in 1944.   The bill, which takes effect August 1st, allows eligible veterans who served at least 90 days active duty since September 11, 2001, to receive an in-state, undergraduate education at a public institution at no cost.  Under this new GI Bill, certain members of the armed forces may transfer benefits to a spouse or dependent children.

Additionally, the Yellow Ribbon Program, a provision of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, allows degree-granting institutions to voluntarily enter into a formal agreement with VA to fund tuition and fee expenses that exceed the highest public, in-state undergraduate rates.  It provides for dollar-for dollar matching funds from VA to educational institutions for tuition for Veterans above the amount funded through the new GI Bill.