While the United States Senate is divided over Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a new internal battle taking place. It does affect what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan; however, this affects the United States forces that are serving home and abroad. The Senate is going through an internal war with each other over the new GI Bill that has been introduced by Democratic Senator Jim Webb of Virginia.
It’s a war on both sides of the Senate with Senator Jim Webb leading one side and presumed GOP nominee Senator John McCain of Arizona headed the other side. The two men have plenty in common but are on opposite ends of this new GI education bill.
Recently on Tuesday, April 29, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans from all branches of the United States Military spoke out how they felt cheated and baited into enlisting. They have spoken out at a Capitol Hill rally saying that they were not given enough funds to cover the expenses they were promised.
One such veteran was US Marine Todd Bowers, who served two tours of Iraq. Bowers was awarded a Purple Heart and a Navy commendation medal with the ‘V’ for Valor. However, he explains that the funding he received was not expected. Bowers ended up having to go back to student loans.
Bowers is one of many that have complained about the current state of the GI Bill.
The new bill under Webb is called the “Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act.” This has been co-sponsored by 58 senators. This bill is aimed to greatly extend education benefits for those military veterans.
However, the bill has come across opposition. US President George W. Bush said he would veto any additions to the GI Bill. McCain refuses to endorse this new bill by Webb. Instead, he wants the alternative by Senate Republicans to be signed. It focuses more on those that choose the military as a career. This would be a means to entice soldiers to remain in service as most do leave after serving their first four years.
This is where McCain and Webb part ways on the similarities. But, the two of them are similar in that they are both veterans of the Vietnam War. John McCain is a former Navy pilot and Vietnam POW. Jim Webb is a former Marine infantry officer.
Such a move on McCain’s part could leave him open as this will provide ammunition for the eventual Democratic nominee. Currently, frontrunners Senator Barrack Obama of Illinois and Senator Hillary Clinton of New York are still fighting for the Democratic Party’s nomination. The next major contests come on May 6 in North Carolina and Indiana. It could be dubbed as “Super Tuesday III” for the Democratic frontrunners.
Also, this could alienate McCain with the military voting bloc. As it was explained, many veterans have spoken out about being misled on the bill. Iraq has been the main platform of McCain. He has acknowledged that Iraq will either make or break his candidacy. Opposition to Jim Webb’s bill could possibly hurt McCain’s candidacy.
So far, Webb’s bill has been co-sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans giving him the much needed bipartisan support.
This gives a clear indication that Webb’s bill will be a possible debate topic in the future between the presidential nominees.