To: President Donald Trump, The New York State House, Governor Andrew Cuomo, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
VETERAN BENEFITS, Increase post 9/11 G.I. bill length and it's housing allowance year round by De...
* The post 9/11 G. I. Bill should be 48 months and the Basic Allowance Housing stipend should be year round.
“In July of 2008 the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill was signed into law, creating a new robust education benefits program rivaling the original WWII Era G.I. Bill of Rights. The new Post 9/11 G.I. Bill benefits are tiered based on the amount of creditable active-duty service the service members and Veterans have since Sept. 10, 2001. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will then pay the tuition and fees directly to the accredited state operated colleges or universities or accredited non-college degree granting institutions where the service members and Veterans are enrolled. The Post 9/11 G.I. Bill also includes a provision, the yellow ribbon program (YRP), to help students avoid some or all of the out- of-pocket tuition and fees that would exceed the amount covered by the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill per semester. The YRP is not automatic as schools must voluntarily enter into an agreement with the VA to share the expense.”
The arrival of the revised G.I. Bill, whose history goes back to the post-WWII years, guaranteed educational benefits, and under the tutelage of federal agencies, pledged to compensate returning service-members and their dependents for their sacrifices. The entitlements include the highest state tuition and sometimes possible full tuition to particular schools for a period of 36 months, a housing stipend paid out based on the anticipated cost of living for the particular zip code, the opportunity to transfer benefits to immediate family members, and expanded admission to higher education for many Veterans. The new celebrated change of education benefits became widespread and was met with high expectations as this rendition of the G.I. Bill achieves an unprecedented standard and quality of benefits and is indeed a more robust education benefit program. However, there are many cracks in the system and there are certain issues that still need to be addressed because it does not account for some missing key pieces that are still required to provide a complete picture.
Government officials and an assortment of VA-issued organizations have overlooked the physical facilitation and implementation of the newly amended legislations. Institutions of higher education and the Veterans they serve all across the nation continue to voice complaints about the lack of guidance in the debacle of the education benefits they are willing to deliver. Since its foundation, the most generous summation of dealing with filing methods through VA has been the expression “archaic.” On the back-end of the misinterpreted entitlements are the terms that lack concrete definition; terms like tuition and fees. While one would assume that tuition and fees would include all costs associated with the school, the correction stands to be that the word fees do not include room and board. Building on personal knowledge, this had nearly turned into an utmost unpleasant experience. Now the living expenses does mean what it’s supposed to be for but when you read the problems that come with it, you will understand why it’s not the solution it was meant for.
Wherever there is affluence and a welfare state, people use their own available resources to get places. When the resources available are known to be limited and there is no provision for unforeseen circumstances this can adversely affect the Veteran’s financial and emotional wellbeing. When it comes to limits or circumstances that are foreseen and can sometimes be addressed prior to facing them, the emotional strain can be a serious issue for the Veterans. The payment gaps for Veteran sustainment during academic recess is one of the big concerns that we wanted to address in this article. If, for example, the semester ends on December 20th for a particular school, then the Veteran will receive benefits pro-rated on a per diem scale – the evaluation of this payment is an equation where the monthly total sum is divided by 30 days, and multiplied by the amount of days that the student-Veteran will actually attend for that month. In this case, the imbursement will be two-thirds of the regular sum. If the next semester doesn’t start until January 17th, the Veteran will receive the last payment for the previous semester on January 1st for the pro-rated amount of December. The next payment that the Veteran would receive in this example would be February 1st for the pro-rated amount of January. The problem that this causes is that Veteran is not getting paid for almost a full month period of time in the middle of the school year and being compensated only for the days in attendance. Another example is the spring and summer break where the Veterans also do not get their BAH. This break in payment (BAH) is one of the biggest problems that Veterans who are enrolled in school face in order to live comfortably.
These are some of the typical scenarios th...
“In July of 2008 the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill was signed into law, creating a new robust education benefits program rivaling the original WWII Era G.I. Bill of Rights. The new Post 9/11 G.I. Bill benefits are tiered based on the amount of creditable active-duty service the service members and Veterans have since Sept. 10, 2001. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will then pay the tuition and fees directly to the accredited state operated colleges or universities or accredited non-college degree granting institutions where the service members and Veterans are enrolled. The Post 9/11 G.I. Bill also includes a provision, the yellow ribbon program (YRP), to help students avoid some or all of the out- of-pocket tuition and fees that would exceed the amount covered by the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill per semester. The YRP is not automatic as schools must voluntarily enter into an agreement with the VA to share the expense.”
The arrival of the revised G.I. Bill, whose history goes back to the post-WWII years, guaranteed educational benefits, and under the tutelage of federal agencies, pledged to compensate returning service-members and their dependents for their sacrifices. The entitlements include the highest state tuition and sometimes possible full tuition to particular schools for a period of 36 months, a housing stipend paid out based on the anticipated cost of living for the particular zip code, the opportunity to transfer benefits to immediate family members, and expanded admission to higher education for many Veterans. The new celebrated change of education benefits became widespread and was met with high expectations as this rendition of the G.I. Bill achieves an unprecedented standard and quality of benefits and is indeed a more robust education benefit program. However, there are many cracks in the system and there are certain issues that still need to be addressed because it does not account for some missing key pieces that are still required to provide a complete picture.
Government officials and an assortment of VA-issued organizations have overlooked the physical facilitation and implementation of the newly amended legislations. Institutions of higher education and the Veterans they serve all across the nation continue to voice complaints about the lack of guidance in the debacle of the education benefits they are willing to deliver. Since its foundation, the most generous summation of dealing with filing methods through VA has been the expression “archaic.” On the back-end of the misinterpreted entitlements are the terms that lack concrete definition; terms like tuition and fees. While one would assume that tuition and fees would include all costs associated with the school, the correction stands to be that the word fees do not include room and board. Building on personal knowledge, this had nearly turned into an utmost unpleasant experience. Now the living expenses does mean what it’s supposed to be for but when you read the problems that come with it, you will understand why it’s not the solution it was meant for.
Wherever there is affluence and a welfare state, people use their own available resources to get places. When the resources available are known to be limited and there is no provision for unforeseen circumstances this can adversely affect the Veteran’s financial and emotional wellbeing. When it comes to limits or circumstances that are foreseen and can sometimes be addressed prior to facing them, the emotional strain can be a serious issue for the Veterans. The payment gaps for Veteran sustainment during academic recess is one of the big concerns that we wanted to address in this article. If, for example, the semester ends on December 20th for a particular school, then the Veteran will receive benefits pro-rated on a per diem scale – the evaluation of this payment is an equation where the monthly total sum is divided by 30 days, and multiplied by the amount of days that the student-Veteran will actually attend for that month. In this case, the imbursement will be two-thirds of the regular sum. If the next semester doesn’t start until January 17th, the Veteran will receive the last payment for the previous semester on January 1st for the pro-rated amount of December. The next payment that the Veteran would receive in this example would be February 1st for the pro-rated amount of January. The problem that this causes is that Veteran is not getting paid for almost a full month period of time in the middle of the school year and being compensated only for the days in attendance. Another example is the spring and summer break where the Veterans also do not get their BAH. This break in payment (BAH) is one of the biggest problems that Veterans who are enrolled in school face in order to live comfortably.
These are some of the typical scenarios th...
Why is this important?
So far I have been talking in third person. To put a face to the problem I am providing the readers of two true-to-life stories.
My name is Gonzalo Duran. I expect to graduate on May 2014 from Fordham University. I am the CEO of Devil Dog USA Incorporated; and an advocate for the Bronx and Veteran community. Two years ago, my current status was not as appealing as my beginning introduction was. After a great successful 8 years of service in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and 1 tour of deployment within Iraq, I was discharged honorably and left the Military. As soon as I got back to the great state of New York, I was immediately faced with unemployment, homelessness, legal issues, and the inability to seek higher education without medical benefits from the VA. I attempted to enroll and comply with the programs set by the VA and by New York State but I could not qualify. I sought as much
help as I could from the civilian sector but they did very little to nothing to help me in my situation. I had to find a balance of VA and VSO’s assistance and suffer with decisions between losses and gains – unfortunately, it was more on the side of losses rather than gains. The odd part to this is that I had a full knowledge of all the programs and the transitional process but could not prosper. It took me a full solid year to situate myself and another year to bring me back to the caliber I am at now. With God’s grace, a lot of trial and error, I decided to dedicate my time to serving my fellow Veterans and I have chosen to use what I have learned to help other Veterans to avoid the hard transitional period I went through. To illustrate for you, from a personal perspective one aspect of what I mean by ‘hard transitional period’ I will give you a specific issue I had. When I first came back home to the Bronx, I could not find an apartment and it would still be a few months before my educational benefits would go into effect. I tried to apply for unemployment but again, I was going to have to wait a few months, and I then applied for VA disability and was told I would have to wait 2 years. I then went back home to live with my mother for two months. I then got a suit from the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs (MOVA), went into a broker’s office with a lump sum of money in-hand which came from my last paycheck from the USMC and from my old church with a ‘I don’t take no for an answer’ attitude. I was very lucky to finally have found good solid citizens who just wanted a good tenant. This is how I was able to build a foundation to start my new life even with so many obstacles in front of me. What I failed to learn was that my case was a one-in-a- million. Since that time of my life, I have found countless Veterans who have faced the same hurdles that I was faced with but for much longer periods of time. I have devoted much of my time to helping those individuals I have come across but I was faced with a dilemma that everyone and everything was against me.
Recently, I met Yegor Zubarev, in one of my classes. He always seems positive and very energetic. He approached me after class once he saw one of my Facebook post. We discussed my projects and what my organization was all about. After speaking, we left with a sense of mutual respect and foresight of future collaboration. A few weeks went by and we began talking on how Zubarev could help within the organization since we are expanding. During a brief conversation, certain signs I read made me ask him a few questions I would to a friend/client. Zubarev told me his story of how he came to this country from Russia and joined the USMC to better himself. How he excelled in the service and became a citizen for it. Then he discussed the horrible effects of his honorable discharge. He took all the steps that he was informed of for transitioning but the cracks in the issues above caused him to end up at his present status. Zubarev is currently a Fordham University student with ambitions of Law School; he is currently living in a shelter and facing many obstacles. This is similar to a situation I faced two years ago myself. Seeking education and getting treatment but facing homelessness, unemployment and the problems that follow. Since that night I have devoted my time to pull him through this tragic event in his life. He has selflessly given his time to helping others before him, by helping me and now, I will show him what his efforts will bear. I saw a quality in him that I see in myself and other great figures. We have a willingness to persevere through hardship. Not for self-preservation but rather in a unified effort of brotherhood for ones’ peers.
Why are there problems like these? Because I need the people to help me deal with the elected officials who are required to help in this venture. They promise assistance but once I make it back to my study to situate myself and begin the process. I either get buried in bureaucratic paperwork (or “red tape”) that will not go anywhere or I am told that there’s nothing they can do. This is the worst part because the banquet, forum (or lecture) where I met with them was dedicated to the exact thing I was asking for assistance with.
I am demanding an audience so I could take the opportunity to discuss the problems with them and maybe find a way to close the cracks on the system. Monetary means and support is all we need to venture out and our main goal is to help the countless Veterans who are out there. If we were to fail, we would at least have done better than our counterparts or what the above parties have done so far. If however we succeed, we will set a higher standard and a model to emulate for other organizations- for profit or non-profit, and we will be there to continue to help and support the Veterans.
To make this clear, this article is dedicated to those that are suffering because of the system and its flaws. These flaws ca...
My name is Gonzalo Duran. I expect to graduate on May 2014 from Fordham University. I am the CEO of Devil Dog USA Incorporated; and an advocate for the Bronx and Veteran community. Two years ago, my current status was not as appealing as my beginning introduction was. After a great successful 8 years of service in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and 1 tour of deployment within Iraq, I was discharged honorably and left the Military. As soon as I got back to the great state of New York, I was immediately faced with unemployment, homelessness, legal issues, and the inability to seek higher education without medical benefits from the VA. I attempted to enroll and comply with the programs set by the VA and by New York State but I could not qualify. I sought as much
help as I could from the civilian sector but they did very little to nothing to help me in my situation. I had to find a balance of VA and VSO’s assistance and suffer with decisions between losses and gains – unfortunately, it was more on the side of losses rather than gains. The odd part to this is that I had a full knowledge of all the programs and the transitional process but could not prosper. It took me a full solid year to situate myself and another year to bring me back to the caliber I am at now. With God’s grace, a lot of trial and error, I decided to dedicate my time to serving my fellow Veterans and I have chosen to use what I have learned to help other Veterans to avoid the hard transitional period I went through. To illustrate for you, from a personal perspective one aspect of what I mean by ‘hard transitional period’ I will give you a specific issue I had. When I first came back home to the Bronx, I could not find an apartment and it would still be a few months before my educational benefits would go into effect. I tried to apply for unemployment but again, I was going to have to wait a few months, and I then applied for VA disability and was told I would have to wait 2 years. I then went back home to live with my mother for two months. I then got a suit from the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs (MOVA), went into a broker’s office with a lump sum of money in-hand which came from my last paycheck from the USMC and from my old church with a ‘I don’t take no for an answer’ attitude. I was very lucky to finally have found good solid citizens who just wanted a good tenant. This is how I was able to build a foundation to start my new life even with so many obstacles in front of me. What I failed to learn was that my case was a one-in-a- million. Since that time of my life, I have found countless Veterans who have faced the same hurdles that I was faced with but for much longer periods of time. I have devoted much of my time to helping those individuals I have come across but I was faced with a dilemma that everyone and everything was against me.
Recently, I met Yegor Zubarev, in one of my classes. He always seems positive and very energetic. He approached me after class once he saw one of my Facebook post. We discussed my projects and what my organization was all about. After speaking, we left with a sense of mutual respect and foresight of future collaboration. A few weeks went by and we began talking on how Zubarev could help within the organization since we are expanding. During a brief conversation, certain signs I read made me ask him a few questions I would to a friend/client. Zubarev told me his story of how he came to this country from Russia and joined the USMC to better himself. How he excelled in the service and became a citizen for it. Then he discussed the horrible effects of his honorable discharge. He took all the steps that he was informed of for transitioning but the cracks in the issues above caused him to end up at his present status. Zubarev is currently a Fordham University student with ambitions of Law School; he is currently living in a shelter and facing many obstacles. This is similar to a situation I faced two years ago myself. Seeking education and getting treatment but facing homelessness, unemployment and the problems that follow. Since that night I have devoted my time to pull him through this tragic event in his life. He has selflessly given his time to helping others before him, by helping me and now, I will show him what his efforts will bear. I saw a quality in him that I see in myself and other great figures. We have a willingness to persevere through hardship. Not for self-preservation but rather in a unified effort of brotherhood for ones’ peers.
Why are there problems like these? Because I need the people to help me deal with the elected officials who are required to help in this venture. They promise assistance but once I make it back to my study to situate myself and begin the process. I either get buried in bureaucratic paperwork (or “red tape”) that will not go anywhere or I am told that there’s nothing they can do. This is the worst part because the banquet, forum (or lecture) where I met with them was dedicated to the exact thing I was asking for assistance with.
I am demanding an audience so I could take the opportunity to discuss the problems with them and maybe find a way to close the cracks on the system. Monetary means and support is all we need to venture out and our main goal is to help the countless Veterans who are out there. If we were to fail, we would at least have done better than our counterparts or what the above parties have done so far. If however we succeed, we will set a higher standard and a model to emulate for other organizations- for profit or non-profit, and we will be there to continue to help and support the Veterans.
To make this clear, this article is dedicated to those that are suffering because of the system and its flaws. These flaws ca...