21st Century GI Bill

Senator Jim Webb (D - VA) joined representatives of the nation's leading veterans groups to advocate comprehensive educational benefits for post-9/11 veterans in the fiscal year 2009 budget. The groups unveiled their Independent Budget to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs earlier in the day, advocating a "21st Century GI Bill," similar to the Webb-Hagel bill (S.22) that enjoys widespread support.

"This independent budget represents the voices of our nations' veterans' service organizations who truly understand the costs of war," said Senator Webb. "These advocates have called for a '21st Century GI Bill' that provides returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with benefits that respect their service and reward their sacrifice like the WWII veterans that came before them."

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For any of those who claim that it is too expensive, consider this: The estimated yearly cost for this program is $2 billion - equivalent to one week of spending on this war.