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Freshmen congressmen support increase in GI Bill school benefits
May 17, 09:04 AM
Waterbury Republican American
May 17, 2008
BY PAUL HUGHES
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
HARTFORD — U.S. Rep. Christopher S. Murphy, D-5th District, is urging President Bush to support increased education benefits for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
An overwhelming majority of the House voted Thursday to sharply increase education benefits for Iraq-Afghanistan veterans under the GI Bill, and to pay for it with a tax surcharge on the wealthy.
Bush has vowed to veto the bill because of additional spending included in the legislation, the tax surcharge and restrictions on his ability to conduct the Iraq war.
On Friday morning, Murphy and U.S. Rep. Joseph Courtney, D-2nd District, urged the president to support the legislation during a joint news conference at the state Capitol.
The new GI Bill essentially would guarantee a full scholarship at any in-state public university, along with a monthly housing stipend, for people who serve the military for at least three years. It is aimed at replicating the benefits awarded veterans of World War II.
Jeremy Tendler, a retired Army sergeant from Washington, Conn., and Master Sergeant Mark Czmyr, an Air Force reservist from Jewett City, appeared with Murphy and Courtney to urge support for the legislation.
Tendler’s unit was first to enter Iraq in March 2003. He received a medical discharge in 2005. He was stationed in Korea at that time.
“As an infantryman coming out of the Army, there are not a lot of job skills that are related to civilian jobs,” he said. “It is critical that our veterans have the opportunity to go to college and be productive members of the work force.
Tendler said he is now attending the University of New Haven and working on an accounting degree. He wants to get a job one day in the federal government.
Tendler said he isn’t receiving tuition assistance under the GI Bill. Instead, he is benefiting from another program offered through the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs. But Tendler said many members of the armed forces stand to benefit under the House bill.
