Bush/McCain: Leaving America's Troops Behind?

[ChristopherHall]

Support the Troops.

McCain, Military Oppose Expanding GI Bill
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=4652517&page=1

Bob Herbert: Today's troops deserve benefits from new GI bill
http://www.daytondailynews.com/searc...08herbert.html

Who wouldn't support an effort to pay for college for GIs who have willingly suited up and put their lives on the line, who in many cases have served multiple tours in combat zones and in some cases have been wounded?

We did it for those who served in World War II. Why not now?

Well, you might be surprised at who is not supporting this effort. The Bush administration opposes it, and so does Sen. John McCain.

Reinvigorating the GI bill is one of the best things this nation could do. The original GI Bill of Rights, signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1944, paid the full load of a returning veteran's education at a college or technical school and provided a monthly stipend. It was an investment that paid astounding dividends. Millions of veterans benefited, and they helped transform the nation. College would no longer be the exclusive preserve of the wealthy and those who crowned themselves the intellectual elite.

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McCain's office said on Monday that it was following the Pentagon's lead on this matter, getting guidance from Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Under pressure because of his unwillingness to support Webb's effort, McCain introduced legislation with substantially fewer co-sponsors last week that expands some educational benefits for GIs, but far less robustly than Webb's bill.

"It's not even close to the Webb bill," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, an advocacy group.

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Bob Herbert is a columnist for The New York Times. Address: New York Times, 620 Eighth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10018.