Dear Susan,
This past Tuesday, over a dozen IAVA Member Veterans joined several veterans' organizations and leading lawmakers from both sides of the aisle at a Rally for a New GI Bill on the steps of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The event, organized by the Fund for Veterans Education, marked a major step forward on the path to getting veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan the educational benefits they deserve. The media is really taking notice and helping to focus America's attention on this important issue. Click here for videos, photos and more from the event.
Senators and Representatives, as well as veterans and civilians, all attended to show support for the new GI Bill. The sponsors of the legislation - Senators Jim Webb (D-VA), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and John Warner (R-VA)- each spoke to the crowd of several hundred about their determination to get the bills (S.22 in the Senate and HR.5740 in the House) passed this year. I also spoke, as did Todd Bowers, our Director of Government Affairs.
If you haven't visited
www.GIBill2008.org yet, I would encourage you to check it out. We're posting daily updates of new co-sponsors and news stories, along with information on how you can get involved to make sure it gets passed this year.
Every day, we're getting closer to an improved GI Bill for our country's newest generation of veterans. We couldn't have gotten this far without your support. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Paul Rieckhoff
Iraq Veteran
Executive Director
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
P.S. Thanks to everyone who participated in Wednesday's IAVA-Charlie Wilson's War House Parties! They were an incredible success- we hope you enjoyed yourselves! We'll be sending around a recap of the night's events soon.
