Sen. Carper Highlights Improvements to Post-9/11 GI Bill at Wilmington University

WILMINGTON – Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Wilmington University students and Wilmington University President Jack Varsalona held an event today at Wilmington University’s Dover Campus to highlight recent legislation improving the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides financial support for education and housing to individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate service on or after Sept. 11, 2001, or individuals discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days. Students must have received an honorable discharge to be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

The recently passed the Restoring GI Bill Fairness Act simplifies the payments veterans can expect to receive by creating a national standard, instead of a state-by-state patchwork for determining tuition reimbursement. It also expands eligibility for veterans to include the members of the National Guard who have responded to national emergencies and provides meaningful choice for veterans who want to pursue non-college degrees, like on-the-job training, apprenticeships and flight school programs.

“We’ve come a long way with the Post 9/11 GI Bill in the past two years,” said Sen. Carper. “Today, more than 537,000 students have received over $11.5 billion in GI Bill benefits to help them take charge of their future. The new legislation will further enhance this important benefit. Providing our veterans with the educational tools they need to pursue a successful post-military career is a great way to say ‘thank you’ to our soldiers for their sacrifices on our behalf.”

Wilmington University has seen its population of students being helped by this benefit grow.

“We understand that military life and attending college can be challenging, that’s why we offer Service members, Veterans and Spouses a dedicated one stop resource and support office for our over 3,000 military students,” said Wilmington University President Jack Varsalona.

For more information about this benefit, go to the Department of Veterans Affairs GI Bill Web site at www.gibill.va.gov.

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