Plan to expand G.I. bill has fans, but no funds

President Bush says he wants education benefits to be transferable, but the idea doesn't appear in his budget.

By MICHAEL ABRAMOWITZ and ROBIN WRIGHT, Washington Post

Last update: February 16, 2008 - 4:42 PM

WASHINGTON - President Bush drew great applause during his State of the Union address last month when he called on Congress to allow U.S. troops to transfer their unused education benefits to family members. "Our military families serve our nation, they inspire our nation, and tonight our nation honors them," he said.

A week later, however, when Bush submitted his $3.1 trillion federal budget to Congress, he included no funding for such an initiative, which government analysts calculate could cost $1 billion to $2 billion annually.

Bush's proposal was added to the speech late in the process, administration officials said, after the president decided that he wanted to announce a program that would favor military families. That left little time to vet the idea, develop formal cost estimates or gauge how many people might take advantage of such a program. Some administration officials said the proposal surprised them, and they voiced concerns about how to fund it.

Some critics in Congress cite the episode as a case study of what they consider the slapdash way Bush has put together the legislative program for his final year in office. Still, the idea is generating bipartisan interest from members of Congress who are eager to assist military families coping with long-term absences of loved ones deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have drawn up legislation that would remove restrictions that currently prevent most troops from transferring education benefits to family members.

"It has some merit to it. I don't have any idea what it costs -- that's been one of the problems in the past," said Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., chairman of the House Budget Committee.

Under the current GI Bill, service members are eligible for nearly $40,000 in education benefits, such as college tuition or employment training, after they complete three years of active duty. Nearly 70 percent of active-duty U.S. forces and veterans use at least part of these benefits, which cover three-quarters of the cost of tuition, room, board and fees for a four-year state university, according to Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington, a Pentagon spokesman. U.S. officials concede that the cost would probably soar, with most families making full use of the benefits.

The GI Bill education benefits cost nearly $2 billion in fiscal 2006. Pentagon officials said they are unable to provide a figure for the potential cost of the new proposal.

The Army has a limited program that allows soldiers to transfer some of their education benefits to spouses or children, but it has several restrictions.

Retired Col. Robert Norton of the Military Officers Association of America said military families have been "clamoring" to expand the GI Bill in recent years as a critical incentive for troops to stay in the service.

The idea has bipartisan support. "It was a very pleasant surprise coming from an administration that has tried to balance its budgets on the backs of military families," said Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., who is co-sponsoring Bartlett's bill. "I don't know where they got the idea, but I am not going to quibble."