María Elvira Salazar: “I would also like to talk a little bit about our GI Bill of Rights for the 21st century. The promise that was made to…”

“I would also like to talk a little bit about our GI Bill of Rights for the 21st century. The promise that was made to our servicemen and women with respect to education, I think, should be kept. As it stands now, Reserve and National Guard soldiers are not eligible for the same educational benefits as active-duty personnel. This disparity of access is simply unacceptable. Currently, close to 50 percent of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are National Guardsmen and Reservists. House Democrats are introducing the new GI Bill of Rights for the 20th Century to honor the bravery of our troops and the tremendous sacrifices that their families have made. The National Guard and Reserves have made extraordinary contributions, making up about 50 percent of the troops in Iraq. The new GI Bill of Rights honors that contribution with provisions that protect their income, to help more than 40 percent of those call up who have suffered pay cuts to serve our country. We have had stories of families that are struggling because they are not making the same amount of money since the spouse left and he is off fighting a war and taking a pay cut. Stories of soldiers losing their homes and families out on the street. I think this is totally unacceptable. It also expands military health care to provide full access to TRICARE, the military health care program, to all members of the Guard and Reserve and their families for a low fee.…”