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Braley on ‘crusade’ to discover why guardsmen denied education benefits

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By Ed Tibbetts | Tuesday, November 13, 2007 2:04 AM CST | () comments

U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, said Monday that he is making it a “crusade” to find out why nearly 600 members of the Iowa National Guard were denied full educational benefits under the G.I. Bill.

Members of the Guard’s 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry, based in Waterloo, learned several weeks ago that its members were not getting full benefits even though the unit trained six months in the U.S. and another 15 months serving in Iraq.

G.I. Bill education benefits are extended to veterans who are on active duty for 730 days and 20 consecutive months. Unit members fell a few days short of the 730-day threshold even though their deployment to Iraq was the longest for a ground combat unit.

“Here in Iowa, it doesn’t meet the smell test,” Braley said when asked whether he thought the unit was deliberately deactivated early.

Some soldiers have suggested that, according to a letter Braley and four other congressmen wrote last month to the Defense Department requesting documents related to the unit’s deactivation.

The congressman from Waterloo updated veterans and reporters on the issue while making a tour of the district Monday to mark Veterans Day.

The Iowa Guard members were going to get $660 in monthly education benefits even though full benefits are $894 per month.

Braley said the Defense Department has assured him full benefits will be paid. However, he and five other congressmen, both Republicans and Democrats, have launched an investigation.

The first-term congressman said he wants to know whether other Guard units have experienced the same thing. A Minnesota unit ran into the problem, too.

“I don’t have any indication there are other affected units, but we want to get to the bottom of it,” he said.

He has co-sponsored a bill to change the threshold at which full benefits are awarded.

Braley said time is running out on this year’s legislative session, but he hopes to get the measure passed.

Ed Tibbetts can be contacted at (563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com.