Henry Brown: “I am pleased we are here today to consider the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003, a bipartisan effort with no less than 37…”

“I am pleased we are here today to consider the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003, a bipartisan effort with no less than 37 substantive provisions. Mr. Speaker, I would like to highlight five of the provisions of this comprehensive bill which provides more than a billion dollars in improved benefits over 10 years. Section 101 of the bill is long overdue. After years of trying to find the offsets, we are finally able to bring equity to those surviving spouses who lose their Dependency and Indemnity Compensation upon remarrying later in life. Section 101 would allow a surviving spouse who remarries after age 57 to retain DIC, as well as home loan and educational benefits. Small business is the bedrock of our economy. Section 301 of the bill would expand the Montgomery GI bill while authorizing educational assistance benefits for on-the-job training of less than 6 months in various types of self-employment training programs. Similarly, section 305 would allow, for the first time, servicemembers, veterans and certain dependents to enroll in entrepreneurship and pre-entrepreneurship courses.”