Senate votes to reinstate Tuition Assistance

The VFW’s Hill Blog reports that the Senate voted to force the services to reinstate their tuition assistance programs;

This afternoon the Senate passed an amendment to the Defense Continuing Resolution, H.R. 933, that will reinstate the military Tuition Assistance, or TA, program under sequestration. The amendment, S. Amdt. 72, was introduced by Sens. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Kay Hagan, D-N.C., and championed by the VFW, American Legion and Student Veterans of America.

On Monday, VFW Commander-in-Chief John Hamilton sent an “all hands” call to VFW advocates in an effort to muster support for the Inhofe/Hagan amendment. On Monday afternoon, Senate debate over the continuing resolution stalled before the amendment could be considered, leading many on Capitol Hill to believe that hope for restoring TA through the continuing resolution was lost. Inhofe and Hagan quickly scrambled to introduce stand-alone legislation to reinstate TA through S. 614 and a House companion bill, H.R. 1265.

The Inhofe/Hagan amendment will require each military branch to continue operating their respective TA programs proportionate to the sequester. Currently, the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marine Corps have cut off TA enrollment entirely in an effort to generate greater savings through budget sequestration.

Category: Military issues