Res. No. 199
Resolution calling on the New York State Assembly to pass, and the New York State Senate to introduce and pass a companion bill to, A.01142, an act to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a tuition and fee remission program for veterans.
By Council Members Fidler, Comrie, Gentile, Koslowitz, Rose, Vann, Williams, Rodriguez, Nelson and Halloran
Whereas, Historically, providing tuition benefits to veterans has been a means of helping men and women returning from military service to lay the foundation for re-entering the workforce and civilian life; and
Whereas, This assistance is especially important because, during the transition from military to civilian life, veterans may face physical and mental disabilities, as well as economic hardships, all of which can combine to make this transition very difficult; and
Whereas, The United States Labor Department shows that the unemployment rate for veterans aged 20 to 24, including reservists who have been called to active duty, is consistently higher than comparable statistics for non-veterans; and
Whereas, The New York Times affirms that there has traditionally been a strong link between increased education benefits and new enlistments tuition benefits; and
Whereas, The Department of Defense has stated that there will be a need to increase the number of military personnel over the next several years, which corresponds to a need to increase recruitment goals; and
Whereas, This will equate to a greater number of veterans in the years to come; and
Whereas, According to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), at this time of economic downturn, it is more crucial than ever that assistance be provided to allow veterans to access institutions of higher learning, so that returning veterans, as well as veterans who served prior to the current conflicts, may gain the skills they need to compete for jobs; and
Whereas, Though there are some federal benefits, such as the G.I. Bill, that may be applied to tuition and other costs associated with attending colleges and universities, according to advocacy groups such as the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), these benefits are often not accessed, in part because there are delays in processing benefits; and
Whereas, The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has reported that even though 95% of veterans take the initial step of paying a contribution from their first military paychecks in order to access G.I. Bill benefits later on, only 8% of veterans use their full G.I. benefit, and 30% of veterans do not use their GI Bill benefit at all; and
Whereas, A.01142, legislation which has been introduced in the New York State Assembly, would both increase the success of future recruiting efforts as well as help improve the access of veterans to higher education opportunities by creating a State-based remission program to cover the cost of tuition and fees for schools in the State University of New York (SUNY) and in the City University of New York (CUNY) systems; and
Whereas, The VA specifies that service members or veterans are typically eligible to receive up to 36 months of entitlement; and
Whereas, A.01142 would grant full remission of tuition charged for one 128 credits or 8 semesters, whichever is longer, to any SUNY or CUNY institution; and
Whereas, Such a tuition remission program would also help support New York's public institutions of higher learning; and
Whereas, Such legislation would most importantly send a positive message to New York's veterans that their home state is honoring them for their service to their country, and supporting them as they make the transition from military to civilian life; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Assembly to pass, and the New York State Senate to introduce and pass a companion bill to, A.01142, an act to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a tuition and fee remission program for veterans.
AC
Res. 1328/2008
LS# 612
4/8/10