A bill that would restore benefit cuts under the Wisconsin G.I. Bill could send 447 veterans to technical colleges and universities over the next six years, according to a report by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
The fiscal bureau reported that restoring the cut benefits would cost $14.6 million.
The bill would provide additional education benefits for up to 64 free credit hours for eligible veterans who have already exhausted their benefits from the federal Post-9/11 G.I. Bill.
“Our bill was a compromise — a middle of the road between getting full benefits or nothing,” Rep. Steve Hilgenberg, D-Dodgeville, said. “It gives veterans an opportunity, if they do use the four year program, to have access to some benefits beyond that, or if down the road they decide they need retraining, they would have that benefit available to return to a technical college and learn a new skill.”
The Post-9/11 G.I. Bill went into effect August 2009, providing education benefits for service members who have served 90 days or more of active duty since Sept. 10, 2001.
The Post-9/11 G.I. Bill provides several new benefits not present in the original 1944 G.I. Bill, including a monthly living stipend, the option to transfer benefits to other family members and up to $1,000 a year for books and supplies.
Wisconsin legislators decided last year student veterans must exhaust all benefits from the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill first before turning to the state’s G.I. Bill for funds.
The new bill is seen as a positive step by some veterans groups toward solving a difficult problem veterans face when attempting to reintegrate into society upon returning home.
“It’s better than nothing,” said Gerald Kapinos, president of University of Wisconsin Vets for Vets. “It’s a fair compromise because the alternative is if nothing passes, then it’s zero additional benefits essentially.”
Marcia Anderson, board chair for the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, voiced support for the bill.
“We support anything that will help veterans go to school,” Anderson said.
The proposed law change would also allow veterans to use federal education benefits to fund a bachelor’s degree and use remaining state benefits to fund 64 credits or two years (whichever is longer) of graduate study.
The bill would affect approximately 57 student veterans in the 2010-11 academic year, and 63 students annually from then on until 2016, according to the fiscal bureau report.
The fiscal bureau also estimated by 2011 the UW System would receive up to $12.1 million in federal revenue. The fiscal bureau cautioned the analysis was only an estimate, and actual enrollment rates and cost could vary.
“By capturing those federal dollars it will benefit the university system and for the veterans who face higher unemployment levels than the general public, it’s a way to reintegrate them back in the system,” Hilgenberg said.
In January, the national unemployment rate for veterans was 12.6 percent compared to 10.4 percent for non-veterans, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
