Political Quotes

“I thank the ranking member for yielding, and I rise in support of the en bloc amendment, which includes the amendment I offered with the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden), to call attention to an important issue facing the Army National Guard. Soldiers join the National Guard to serve their country. Often, they choose the National Guard because they want to balance service with civilian careers or postsecondary education. The Army's tuition assistance program is a valuable benefit for soldiers who want to pursue opportunities for professional growth or attend college while off duty. In January of 2014, the Army changed its tuition assistance program, and now, all soldiers must wait one full year after initial training before becoming eligible for tuition assistance. This change affects all soldiers, but it may disproportionately harm those in the National Guard. Nonprior service soldiers in the National Guard, some of whom attend college full time, will have to wait at least a year, and perhaps much longer, depending on the availability of training courses before they get help paying for their education. The Bonamici-Walden amendment asks the Secretary of the Army to evaluate how this one-size-fits-all change to tuition assistance could affect citizens-soldiers enrolled in education programs.…”