Daines Leads Bipartisan Effort Urging DOD to Restore Education Benefits for Guard & Reserve Members

U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines sent a bipartisan letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper urging the Department to restore full education benefits for members of the National Guard and Reserve.

“The brave men and women who serve in our Armed Forces choose to serve for a number of reasons and make many sacrifices in the defense of our country,” Daines wrote. “The benefits provided by the Montgomery GI Bill and DoD-funded TA are valuable incentives that can help the Reserve components meet their recruiting and retention goals by providing financial means for servicemembers to obtain a college degree.”

To read the full letter, click HERE.

Currently, individuals who qualify for Montgomery GI Bill – Active Duty (MGIB-AD) or the “Post 9/11 GI Bill” are, by statute, able to simultaneously use these benefits with Tuition Assistance (TA). In late 2014, DoD issued a policy that prohibits similar concurrent usage of TA with the Montgomery GI Bill – Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR).

Daines’ efforts would bring parity between active duty and Reserve component servicemembers, ensuring they can utilize both their GI Bill benefits and Federal Tuition Assistance.

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