THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 11, 1995 TAG: 9510100295
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: TOM PHILPOTT
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
No one, arguably, knows more about strengths and weaknesses of the Montgomery GI Bill than its namesake, Rep. G.V. ``Sonny'' Montgomery, D-Miss.
If he can convince senators of that, Montgomery will succeed this month in killing a plan to raise by a third - from $1,200 up to $1,600 - the amount forfeited by new recruits to buy into the program.
Recruiters say no tool is more effective than the GI Bill in attracting quality youth. High quality means less turnover and lower training costs.
``You could buy 10 GI Bills with the training money saved'' so far, Montgomery said last week from his office in Meridian, Miss. He also announced plans to retire from Congress in December 1996, after 30 years.
The ``centerpiece'' of his career, he said, is the GI Bill. Montgomery doesn't want to leave watching its popularity decline.
He knows the 10-year-old program is not always what it seems. It pales in comparison, for example, to the free education package offered to veterans returning from World War II. Recruits pay to participate in this one - more than $2 billion to date - and 40 percent of eligibles aren't using their benefits. With no refunds allowed, contributions of those who don't go to school help to subsidize those who do.
But that's part of the low-cost design and Montgomery offers no apologies. What does trouble him is watching the value of benefits fall compared with education costs. In 1985, the new GI Bill paid 70 percent of average costs at a four-year public college, he said. Today it covers 40 percent to 50 percent.
``We ought to be raising benefits, not contributions,'' said the senior Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Steve F. Kime, director of Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges, a civilian-military partnership to encourage higher education, agreed. ``You're talking about benefits of just over $400 a month for 36 months,'' Kime said. ``It does not begin to cover the cost of education. It's almost a joke.''
Still, 94 percent of recruits buy in, forfeiting $100 a month of basic pay - about 13 percent - during their first year of service.
That $1,200 is not enough, says the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. It voted to raise the contribution to $133 a month - 17 percent of recruit pay. The lead proponent, top Democrat John D. Rockefeller, says contributions have not increased since the program began, while benefits have been raised three times, to reach $14,575.
The basic benefit is enough for students attending community college, but falls well below the cost of traditional degree programs. Tuition, fees, room and board in 1995-96 will average $6,823 at four-year public schools and $17,631 at private colleges, according to the College Entrance Examination Board. GI Bill recipients receive up to $3,645 a year over a four-year degree program.
Congress last year authorized annual adjustments in benefits using the Consumer Price Index. But it immediately capped the first raise at half the CPI. The Senate committee wants to make half-CPI a permanent cap.
The GI Bill showdown will come in a House-Senate conference committee in late October ``I'm really worried about it,'' Montgomery said.
But Montgomery doesn't lose many fights over veterans issues. And Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.), chairman of the Senate committee, he said, ``has always been a close friend. He certainly isn't going to let anybody run over me.'' MEMO: Reader comments and suggestions are welcomed. Write to Military Update,
P.O. Box 1230, Centreville, Va. 22020, or send e-mail to:
milupdate@aol.com. by CNB