On May 22, with a vote of 75-22, the United States Senate passed the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act. This 21st Century G.I. Bill will cover the cost of any state school for a period equal to the amount of time a service member served on active duty for tours in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Every Senator from Maine to as far south as Virginia and west as Pennsylvania voted for the bill with the exception of Judd Gregg. Senator Gregg is a political scion who was able to afford to attend the exclusive private institutions of Columbia University then law school at Boston University. When called to serve his country in a time of war Gregg received a deferment from Vietnam due to having bad acne. Senator Gregg, I can barely afford to attend UNH with my student loans and my acne got worse while I served in Iraq.
President Bush has threatened to veto the new G.I. Bill. When the Senate votes to override the Presidents veto Senator Gregg will have one last opportunity to either show his support for the troops or his blind allegiance to the empty rhetoric of this administration. Senator Gregg, I plead with you give the New Hampshire Reserve and National Guard soldiers who have served valiantly in Iraq and Afghanistan an opportunity to get an education.
