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Friday, December 8, 1989 / University Daily Kansan
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The Chapter 30 program, also called the Montgomery GI Bill, will continue to assist some veterans who have received Chapter 34 benefits, according to the brochure. But others, including up to 15 local servicemen, will be caught in the cracks.
One such veteran is Mike Lacey, 35, a non-traditional student at the University of Kansas, who served in the Navy.
Veterans who served on active duty for 181 continuous days from Feb. 1, 1955 to Dec. 31, 1976 were eligible for federal benefits to help finance their education, a chance they might not have received otherwise, according to a KU Veterans Services brochure. They were allowed 10 years after leaving the service to complete their education
Lacey said he joined the Navy in 1976 to obtain GI benefits. He was discharged in 1981 and entered Washburn University in 1982 as a part-time student, believing he would have 10 years to finish school.
An opportunity for a better life. The Chapter 34 educational assistance program, commonly known as the Vietnam Era GI Bill, has offered this opportunity to many U.S. veterans.
But the Chapter 34 program is running out. Dec. 31, 1989 marks the end of the Vietnam Era GI Bill. It also means end of benefits for many veterans.
These unlucky veterans will not be able to use the 10 full years to finish their job or them, the dec. 31 closing date comes before the allotted 10-year limit.
Although the closing date of Dec. 31, 1989 was enacted in 1976, Lacey claimed the government not notified him of it, and now he could lose the chance for an education he says he is entitled to.
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Time is running out for vets to collect education benefits
By Holly Lawton
Kansan staff writer
Lacey remained a part-time student at Washburn while the government paid for his tuition and books. He said it was necessary for him to work while in school to meet his other expenses.
"I spent four years in the Navy and was promised something by the government, and now they're lying to me," he said.
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Lacey said he didn't know, however, that his time was slowly running out. His plans to finish college and attend nursing school suddenly became more expensive.
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"About a year and a half ago, I got a letter from the Veterans Administration saying I was no longer eligible for benefits after this year," he said. "They said it was the law. But I needed to know any information before then saying this was the law. They should have told me as soon as they knew."
Cindy Smith, veterans services representative for the Kansas Commission on Veteran Affairs (KCVA), and other local veterans were out of lick.
"There is a gap, although not a bus one, where some people did get a bad deal," she said. "They do have a gripe. They're not getting the 10 years they were supposed to be entitled to. But it's not a new grime."
Smith explained why the government was closing out the Chapter 34 program.
"I think the government's standpoint is, 'We have to end this sometime,' she said." The military has never been really good about giving out information about it. But any award letters that they've gotten should have specified the closing date."
Gary Thompson, director of student records and registration in the KU Veteran Services Office, said there was no reason why veterans should not have been notified of the closing date.
"When you leave active duty, everyone goes through an exit program, and you talk about what beaten him. He said that." That information should help be available to them. They should have been notified, probably twice."
Randy Scott, administrative officer for the KCVA, said it was difficult to pinpoint a culprit in Lacey's situation.
Thompson conceded that some notifications were carried out better.
"Usually on the last day in the military, you're so glad to get out you know, not to anything else," he said. "I wouldn't be surprised if they missed it."
"Unless you're getting real close they don't notify you," he said. "The closing date is on the award letter you get every semester, but most people don't read that part. They're interested in the money — they don't read the stuffers."
Scott said it was possible, although highly improbable, that Lacey and the other veterans were never notified or that they missed the closing date.
"We haven't received too many complaints about it," he said. "But whenever there's a change in benefits or a change in the law, there's always someone caught in the cracks."
Tim Boller, legislative assistant to State Rep. Jim Slattery, said there had been proposals to the federal legislature to extend the deadline of the Chapter 34 program.
"I'm on the veterans' side, but it's the law,' she said. "They can appeal all they can do is try to get the federal legislature to change the law."
Smith agreed there was little that could be done to help the veterans.
"It it's very unlikely, though." Boller said. "It would cost $180 million a year to extend it, and that money would have to come out of other vet programs, which are already underfunded."
He said Rep. Sonny Montgomery, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee and author of both assistance programs, was opposed to continuing the Chapter 34 program because of the cost.
"Everyone involved wants to do what's best for the vets," Boller said. "If we had our wish we'd have the money to help them. But the government really needs to watch its money."
Some veterans who served on the Chapter 34 program will be eligible for the Chapter 30 program, Smith said. They must have served on active duty continuously from Oct. 19, 1984 until at least June 30, 1988. They also could be eligible if they were honorably discharged between June 30, 1985 and June 30, 1988.
Lacey meets none of these eligibility requirements for the Chapter 30 program. He must find other means of financing his education after Dec. 31.
"I'll continue school no matter what," he said. "I'll invest in my education even if I have to go into debt."
Lacey said he was in especially dire financial straits since he and his wife, Dodie, both were working parttime and attending school full-time. They both intend to go on to professional school after graduating, making funds even more difficult to come by.
"We only pull in $15,000 a year together'since we've just working part-time,' Lacey said:'It's a real scramble for funds.'
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