Cost are increasing sharply as post-911 veterans begin to qualify for state benefits. But cutting the programs is politically difficult.
Veterans fill the gallery of the Virginia House of Delegates as legislators meet June 28 in a special session to consider reversing cuts in a veterans education program. Delegates voted unanimously to reverse the cost-cutting move, but an agreement has not been reached with the state Senate.
"Everybody told us this is completely extraordinary," she said."They've never seen anything like this and the General Assembly as long as they've been alive."The changes in the tuition program were part of the bipartisan state budget approved by the Democratic-controlled legislature and signed by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin in May. The changes passed with little public discussion.
The coalition persuaded legislators and the governor to call a special session in late June to roll back the cuts. Though lawmakers were unable to agree on a repeal plan during that session, they plan to return to the Capitol July 18 to try again. Though the tuition program has been around for nearly a century, Virginia expanded it in 2019 to include, among other groups, vets with non-combat related injuries. The cost jumped from $12 million in 2019 to $65 million last year.
"Benefits always peak many, many decades later, as veterans become older and sicker and require greater use of these benefits," said Linda Bilmes with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Bilmes has authored several papers on the long-term price tag of the Post-911 wars. "They come back, and they see everyone in the community has been able to buy a house and go to college and whatever, and they didn't get anything," Bilmes said."They tend to sort of rely on the VA benefits."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Massachusetts 911 emergency system down across stateThe emergency system for the state of Massachusetts was down Tuesday but it wasn't clear what caused the disruption.
Read more »
2-hour statewide 911 outage blamed on firewall problemA 911 outage is impacting the entire state of Massachusetts Tuesday afternoon, according to Boston police.
Read more »
Massachusetts suffers statewide outage of its 911 servicesBOSTON (AP) — The 911 system across Massachusetts went down Tuesday afternoon, making it impossible for anyone to reach emergency services. “The State 911
Read more »
Who do you call for help? LA County starts PSA campaign on emergency service phone numbersThere's more than just 911 available in LA County.
Read more »
Dallas police holding job fair Saturday to fill 911 call taker, dispatcher needsOn Saturday, the department is having a job fair at Jack Evans Headquarters to try to fill nearly 40 open seats.
Read more »
One-of-one Singer Vehicle Design ACS for saleA 911 Dakar is cool - but we can do better than just cool
Read more »