OFFICE OF SENATOR WEBB: MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, HUNDREDS OF IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN WAR VETERANS CALL FOR SWIFT PASSAGE OF WEBB GI BILL
- Rally on Capitol Hill for “Post-9/11 Veterans Assistance Act” (S.22/ H.R. 5740)

FROM THE OFFICE OF SENATOR WEBB

April 29, 2008

Contact: Jessica Smith (Webb), 202-228-5185
Kimberly Hunter (Webb), 202-228-5258


Washington, DC— More than two hundred veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from across the country converged on Capitol Hill Tuesday to join members of Congress in advocating immediate legislative action on Senator Webb’s “Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act” (S.22/ H.R. 5740). The legislation boasts strong bi-partisan and bi-cameral support with 58 cosponsors in the Senate, 250 cosponsors in the House and the endorsements of the nation’s leading veterans’ organizations.

The “Post-9/11” GI Bill is designed to offer the brave men and women who have served honorably since September 11, 2001 a level of educational benefits on par with those provided to veterans of the World War II era. The legislation will give our returning troops the tools to succeed after military service, strengthen our economy in the face of increasing global competition, and make military service more attractive as we work to rebuild our military.

“This has been a great experience over the past 16 months, working with the various veterans’ groups and my colleagues assembled today, making sure that this bill properly responds to the needs of our veterans,” said Senator Webb. “This is not a difficult concept. For all who have been saying that this is the newest ‘Greatest Generation,” this is the easiest way for us to prove that.”

Webb continued: “It is time for those of us who have been calling on these service members to serve again and again to assist in providing them with the most tangible thanks that our country can offer—and that is a meaningful chance at a first-class future. We owe our veterans a future that is equal to the first-class service that they have given to our country. That is the motivation for that bill, and we need to get it passed in an expedited manner.”

Participants in today’s program included Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid; Senate lead cosponsors Sens. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and John Warner (R-VA); Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI); and House lead cosponsors Reps. Harry Mitchell (D-AZ), Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL).

Also in attendance were more than 25 veterans’ and student organizations, including: Air Force Association (AFA), Air Force Sergeants Association (AFSA), American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), American Council on Education, The American Legion, American Logistics Association (ALA), AMVETS, Blinded Veterans Association (BVA), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (EANGUS), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America (JWV), Marine Corps League, Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS), National Association for Uniformed Services, National Association for Black Veterans, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, Non Commissioned Officers Association (NCOA), Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), The Retired Enlisted Association (TREA), Rolling Thunder, Inc National, Student Veterans of America (SVA), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), The Veterans of Modern Warfare (VMW), and Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA).

For pictures of the event, please contact Kimberly Hunter at Kimberly_Hunter@webb.senate.gov or call 202-228-5258.

For audio bites of Senators Webb, Warner, Hagel and student veteran Todd Bowers, please go to: http://demradio.senate.gov/actualities/webb/webb080429_1.mp3 Video highlights of the “21st Century GI Bill” Rally with more than 200 veterans, Senators and Representatives, and Veterans’ organizations have been posted on Pathfire. Instructions to access content can be found at: http://democrats.senate.gov/tv/pathfire/Webb_via_Pathfire.pdf.



For more information about the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, please visit: http://webb.senate.gov/pdf/factsheetgibill042508.pdf .