New Haven Independent

Veterans and some folks who work with veterans were invited to the Friday program by Jack Mordente, director of Veterans Affairs at Southern Connecticut State University. The program was held at SCSU’s Engelman Hall.

That was the day that vets could start applying for the benefits under the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, which goes into effect Aug. 1. In broad outline, it allows vets who have served at least 36 months of active duty (or 30 days of active duty for those who receive a disability-related discharge), including activated reservists and members of the National Guard, to receive up to 36 months of education benefits — a full four years of college — plus a housing allowance and money for books. Benefits can be transferred to a dependent under certain circumstances. Vets will have 15 years after they leave active duty to take advantage of the program.

Bonaldo, a Marine who served in Iraq, has one semester left at Southern. “I’m just here to find out what rights I have,” he said, “because I’ve exhausted my regular GI bill but I think I’m eligible to get another 12 months out of the new, post-9/11 GI bill.”

He was pretty sure, by the end of the presentation, that he is in fact eligible.

Vet Gabe Kautzner (pictured) — who counsels other veterans at the Vet Center in West Haven — stood up in the audience after listening for quite awhile to Gerry Jacques presentation, and said, “This is very confusing.”

Jacques, an education liaison representative with the Veterans Administration, had his work cut out for him. His PowerPoint presentation was rife with exceptions and convoluted requirements. He referred people to the VA’s website on the new law, and said there’s a toll-free hotline — 888.442.4551 (888.GIBill1). He’s pictured with DeLauro, trying to figure out one of the benefits.

Jack Mordente promised that calling the hotline would be an exercise in frustration, because it’s set up to deal only with the basics of the law, not anyone’s specific situation. That’s what Mordente and his counterparts around the country will do, but only after they understand it themselves. He expressed support for the law, but said he’d “like to wring the neck” of whoever wrote the regulations.

DeLauro was invited to the event because Mordente said he found some problems with the new law, and she has expressed a willingness to introduce some changes. But she can’t do it ‘til after Aug. 1, when the original law takes effect.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty about it; there’s a lot of misinformation,” said Mordente (pictured). “You know, there are people in Washington who call this the greatest GI bill since World War II. It’s not true; it has some issues. If you are a college student going full-time, you get the maximum benefits. After that there are some problems. I think they’re going to be fixed, but I think it’ll take an act of Congress. This bill does not include apprenticeship and on-the-job training. Now, a veteran should be able to choose the kind of education he wants; not everyone goes [for] higher education.”

At the end of Jacques’s presentation, DeLauro took the stage to tell the audience members how confusing the new law is, but she added, “Having said that, this is a significant commitment of resources. We’ve done the right thing here, we just have to implement it in the right away. A new piece of legislation - we just have to get some of the bugs worked out.” She urged the veterans, “Don’t throw up your hands and give up.”

The bill will provide between $53 billion and $63 billion over ten years, and possibly more will be required, depending on how many vets apply and the cost of college in the future. Vets are eligible for benefits to cover the costs of a four-year education up to the level of the most expensive in-state public school ($9,886 for next year in Connecticut, at UConn), along with a stipend for housing, books and other expenses.