Mark Takano: “As one of Riverside County's Representatives, a county that has the eighth-largest veterans' population in the Nation, I…”

“As one of Riverside County's Representatives, a county that has the eighth-largest veterans' population in the Nation, I proudly rise today in support of H.R. 357, as amended. This bill is a far-ranging bill that seeks to improve the lives of our veterans. H.R. 357 includes a number of measures that were considered by the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity and was reported favorably out of the Veterans' Affairs Committee last June. I want to thank Chairman Miller of the full committee, and Chairman Flores of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, for their leadership. I especially enjoyed holding several field hearings last year with Chairman Flores in our respective districts. The Veterans' Affairs Committee has traditionally been a bipartisan committee, and I am pleased to see that cooperation continue as both leaders helped bring this bill to the floor today. In the area of education, H.R. 357 would require all public colleges and universities using the GI Bill to provide all veterans with instate tuition rates. Currently, veterans who have not established residency at the school of their choice must pay out-of-state tuition rates. In order to fulfill their military obligations, servicemembers must uproot their families and periodically move around the country. This makes it difficult to establish residency for purposes of instate tuition rates when veterans seek to use their GI Bill benefits.…”