Budget bill includes $6 million for vet centers at colleges

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Budget bill includes $6 million for vet centers at colleges
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, December 11, 2009

WASHINGTON — Soon veterans arriving on college campuses may find a fully staffed veterans’ center waiting to help them address any problems with GI Bill benefits or military health care.

The Department of Education will receive $6 million next year to help fund “Centers of Excellence for Veterans Success” at campuses across the country, as part of the compromise federal budget bill unveiled by congressional leaders this week.

Veterans groups hailed the move as an important resource in light of the growing number of veterans headed to college under the revamped GI Bill, and the numerous problems with the benefits program that have resulted.

“The goal here is to provide a one-stop office for all veterans who come to campus,” said Ray Kelley, national legislative director for AMVETS. “They can help process claims. They can give them orientation if they missed that. They can get tutoring help for veterans.”

The new GI Bill that went into effect in August guarantees four years of tuition at state universities plus housing and book stipends. But thousands of veterans waited months for the Department of Veterans Affairs to process their reimbursement checks for the fall semester, and some have yet to receive their first payment.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=66593