WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate passed the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010 (S. 3447), a bill sponsored by Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) to improve educational assistance for those who served in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001.

“Today the Senate reaffirmed our commitment to assisting veterans pursuing education, for the benefit of the young men and women in the armed services and as an investment in the future of our nation,” said Senator Akaka, a World War II veteran who attended college on the original GI Bill. 
 

As passed by the Senate, this bill would, among other things:
• Provide for a streamlined, less complex, and more equitable program for veterans who have served on active duty since September 11, 2001;
• Expand opportunities for training and education by paying benefits for on-job and vocational training; and
• Make service members eligible for an annual book allowance.

Chairman Akaka was a principal cosponsor of the legislation that established the new GI Bill program in 2008.  Based on VA’s year-long experience with the program, Chairman Akaka and members of the committee worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs and numerous veterans service organizations to craft the improvements contained in this bill.

This bill now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.

The committee report for S.3447 can be found here.  For more information on the GI Bill, please visit http://www.gibill.va.gov.

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December 13, 2010