Sen. Carper Cosponsors Legislation to Permanently Protect ‘GI Bill’ from Abuse

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), a 23-year Navy veteran and a member of the Veterans Jobs Caucus, announced his support for the GI Bill Protection Act of 2013, written by Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). This legislation would assert that the phrase “GI Bill” would be permanently prohibited from being used in an inappropriate or misleading way by non-government organizations. In the past, some schools and advertisers have created websites with military-sounding names that claim to offer unbiased advice on GI Bill benefits, but these sites are actually designed to lure students to particular schools.  

“The GI Bill is a pledge by this country to help our men and women in uniform invest in their futures – one that I took advantage of as a young man returning from Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War,” said Sen. Carper. “I went to graduate school at the University of Delaware thanks to this landmark legislation, an experience that fundamentally changed my life. Misleading our soldiers, and taking advantage of their hard-earned GI Bill benefits, is just wrong. After sacrificing years of their lives to protect our freedom, we have a responsibility to protect them from fraud and abuse. That is why I am proud to cosponsor this legislation, which will protect soldiers from scams or misleading information. Our veterans have earned the right to a great, affordable education with the help of the GI Bill, and no one should be able to hinder them from finding the best opportunities.”

The GI Bill, which marked its 69th anniversary over the weekend, established benefits for veterans returning home from World War II. These benefits include funding for tuition and living expenses while the veterans attended college, high school, or vocational training. The GI Bill Protection Act of 2013 would provide permanent protection for the phrase “GI Bill” to help ensure that advertisements cannot give a false impression of approval or endorsement by the federal government.

In 2011, Sen. Carper introduced legislation to improve the current laws regarding education benefits for our nation’s military service members and veterans. The bill, the
Military and Veterans Education Protection Act (MVEP), would modify the current 90/10 financial aid formula used by for-profit colleges to ensure federal funding utilized through the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Post-9/11 G.I. Bill and the Department of Defense’s Tuition Assistance program is counted as federal dollars rather than as private dollars. To learn more about Senator Carper’s work supporting our service members and veterans, please visit http://www.carper.senate.gov/veterans.