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Don’t expand new GI Bill

One of the most generous aspects of the Post-9/11 GI Bill is the ability to transfer unused education benefits to family members — to a spouse after six years of service and to children after 10. To qualify for the transfer option, service members must have been on duty at the program’s Aug. 1 launch and must agree to serve four additional years in uniform.

Two groups are now pushing for major changes to the transfer rights in the 5-month-old program. The Gold Star Wives is asking Congress to expand the rights to survivors of service members who die before completing the required service. And the American Legion wants transfer rights for anyone who separated before Aug. 1 and served a minimum of 10 years, including at least 90 days since Sept. 11, 2001.

While the intention of sharing these generous benefits with as many veterans and families as possible is a noble one, both of these proposals would fundamentally alter the intent of the expanded benefits, which is to serve as a retention incentive.

And consider the delays that already have plagued the program: 26,000 veterans attending college are still waiting for their living stipends. Earlier this month, when confronted with that fact, VA officials warned against tweaking the process to pay the stipends faster, saying an adjustment would lead to — you guessed it — more delays.

This is not a program, or a department, that’s even close to being prepared for major changes. Consideration of expanding Post-9/11 GI Bill transfer rights would be foolish before the Veterans Affairs Department is able to handle the program as it is — whether that takes more claims processors or congressional oversight.