A new bill introduced in the House would make it much easier for National Guard troops to accrue GI Bill benefits.
On Thursday, Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., introduced the Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act, which aims to eliminate most of the confusion over which types of duty allow Guard troops to qualify for federal education benefits, instead greenlighting all days in service, including weekend drills and state active duty, to count toward the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
"The men and women who serve in the Guard and Reserve make incredible sacrifices for our country just like other service members, and they deserve equal benefits for doing similar jobs and facing similar risks," said Levin, who chairs the House Veterans Affairs Committee subpanel on economic opportunity.
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The move comes during an unprecedented time for the National Guard. In the last 12 months, Guard members were deployed for domestic missions to provide pandemic relief, combat wildfires, secure the U.S.-Mexico border and protect the U.S. Capitol after an assault by a pro-Trump mob. Many of these missions are ongoing, with no clear end in sight.
The Guard is also juggling missions abroad, and individual troops still must find time for normal training and professional development schools required for promotion.
But federal deployments abroad have been drying up as wars wind down, meaning it is much more difficult for Guardsmen to earn federal benefits, including the GI Bill. That's despite being on frequent rotation for missions at home and continuing regularly scheduled training.
Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., said it's "not right" for the Guard to be shortchanged on benefits.
"Despite taking on the same risks and doing the same jobs as their active-duty counterparts, these service members don't have access to the same benefits," said Takano, who chairs the House VA Committee.
Under current law, Guard troops must serve 90 days to earn Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, with at least 30 of those days being continuous service. Purple Heart recipients automatically qualify.
The average soldier or airman in the Guard serves about 60 days during a normal year, without any domestic missions or overseas deployments. However, a day in the Guard doesn't always equal one day of service. Typical weekend training days or annual training doesn't count toward benefits.
Most Guard troops automatically qualify for military scholarships in their respective states. But there's no uniformity on how much tuition those scholarships cover, and they typically cover tuition exclusively and not books, housing and other college fees as the GI Bill does.
-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.
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