Congress to reinstate Tuition Assistance
After the Senate voted to reinstate Tuition Assistance to the services yesterday, the House voted today to send the bill to the President. In a Stars & Stripes link from Pat;
On Wednesday, the Senate included the tuition assistance rules as part of their plan to fund federal programs through September. On Thursday, the House agreed with the proposal, and the president is expected to sign it into law in coming days.
Congress had until March 27 to pass a new budget bill or risk a government shutdown. But the tuition assistance provision was a surprise for supporters of the education benefit, since partisan infighting seemed to shelve the idea earlier in the week.
The Marines, Army, Air Force and the Coast Guard all sacrificed the program for active duty troops to sequestration last week, but it looks like help is on the way. Now if they’d only pass a real complete budget for a change instead of kicking the can down the road for political points.
Category: Politics
Yeah they need to hurry so I can do this damn MTT next month to Irwin. I need my dose of Vegas!
What I don’t understand is the DOD sequester cuts are 7.8%, and no way DOD used 92.2% of TA funds this FY. Best I can figure out is they planned to take the remaining funds and shift them elsewhere, another example of raiding benefit funding to support other stuff?
I was able to use TA, even when going to Graf, Hohenfels, Reforgers and NTC. It wasn’t a tremendous benefit, but it helped recruitment, retention and readiness. Suspending it was a pretty stupid move, and kudos to everyone who called their Congress Critters and signed the petition to reinstate the program.
Of course the United States Coast Guard was left behind yet again. If you would, please sign this petition for the Dept of Homeland security to follow suit of the DOD and reinstate it to the memebers of the USCG. Thank you.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/reinstate-tuition-assistance-ta-active-duty-and-reserve-members-united-states-coast-guard-uscg/lwRN4r9Q
Now the question is where are they going to cut from our benefits next. I know the DoD doesn’t need an additional $154 million to research for alternative green fuel.
I still say you could retire 10% of the currently serving flag officers (along with their assorted toadies, brown-nosers, and baggage-handlers) and fund this and many other programs for the troops.
I’ve used my share of TA, but if cuts are being forced on the services, their missions should be the last thing to suffer. Cutting TA isn’t good for retention but I think that’s something they’re trying to cut down on anyway these days.
TA, travel, and PCS are pretty obvious spots that I’d start cutting in the same position. Then I’d probably start looking at total manning–but no way would congress go for that kind of cut.