That's right, the Bush Administration thinks that giving decent benefits to veterans will hurt retention in the armed services. (Here's a good recent WHYY-NPR piece on the issue.) Think about that, and why keeping good men and women in the service might be tough these days. From the Pentagon's point of view, it's not the fact that we are mired in a grossly unpopular war. It's not the fact that abhorrent conditions have been found in military hospitals and living quarters for returning troops. And it certainly couldn't be the fact that the Bush Administration has systematically destroyed the best medical care system in the country's history -- the late-1990s-era Veterans Administration (really, it's true, Bush inherited a VA system with patient outcomes and satisfaction that outdid the private sector -- with huge costs savings). No, the problem with keeping our military strong is, according to the Administration, good education benefits. Who would have guessed? Now that's a winning slogan for some brave politician: Support the troops - reduce benefits!
The original GI Bill had broad bipartisan support. Today Webb is struggling to get his bill passed. Senator John McCain has so far refused to support it, offering up a far less generous alternative that has already been shot down. The pressure is now on for the Republican candidate for president and number one supporter of the war in Iraq to also support Webb's GI Bill for the 21st Century, as Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama already have done.
