According to the Army News Service funding for tuition assistance has fallen as a casualty of the ongoing budget sequester battle between the Republican Tea Party (GOTP) controlled House and the President; as a result, soldiers cannot submit new requests for tuition assistance, according to LTG Howard B. Bromberg, deputy chief of staff, G-1.
Approval for the tuition assistance (TA), stoppage came from Secretary of the Army John McHugh, and affects Soldiers from both the active and reserve components.
While it’s reported that soldiers currently enrolled in courses approved for TA are not impacted, and will be allowed to complete their funded coursework, there will be no further expenditures until the current impasse has been breached.
According to LTG Bromberg, the suspension in funding “is necessary given the significant budget execution challenges caused by the combined effects of a possible year-long continuing resolution and sequestration, and will remain in effect until the fiscal situation matures.”
Bromberg also said, “The Army understands the impacts of this action and will re-evaluate should the budgetary situation improve.”
While the TA funding, which is funded from the Army’s budget, soldiers can continue their education using alternate methods; those methods include GI Bill funding, which is derived from the Department of Veterans Affairs, is available and Soldiers can continue their education using this benefit. The GI Bill includes the Montgomery GI Bill, Post 9/11 GI Bill and several other education programs.
So, basically the GOTP has once again stuck it to the soldiers. When everyone stepped up after 9-11 there were crowds of conservative Americans waving flags and proclaiming how they supported the troops. If you still support the troops, step up and tell Congress to fix this now, if you’re unwilling to do that, well, then it’s time to take your patriotic ribbon magnet off your car, and stop being a hypocrite.
The Liberty Tree 