Feb. 11, 2016
NBAA has reaffirmed its support for post-9/11 GI Bill flight-training benefits, and expressed concern over legislation to limit those benefits.
The bill, proposed by Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-2-OH), would severely limit GI Bill benefits for military veterans who want to enter the aviation industry by receiving flight training. A provision in the bill would cut educational benefits for veterans by $882 million over 10 years in order to create a new bureaucracy at the Veterans Administration.
In a letter sent to House leaders on Feb. 9, NBAA and six other organizations expressed opposition with H.R. 3016, the Veterans Employment, Education, and Healthcare Improvement Act, which “will break promises that the United States of America has made to its veterans if passed,” and will cause immediate changes to collegiate flight- training degree benefits for our nation’s military veterans.
Without personal financial resources, a veteran would be unable to attain an aeronautical college degree with a commercial pilot license under the proposed cap of $20,235 on flight training for tuition and fee payments at public schools, the letter notes. Flight training does not qualify for a federally backed student loan, and therefore is generally treated as an unsecured loan at interest rates often exceeding 12 percent.
“H.R. 3016 is a disservice to our nation’s veterans, will exacerbate the deteriorating pool of commercial pilots – thereby accelerating the pilot shortage in this country – and will have a lasting detrimental effect on commercial aviation in the United States,” the letter states. “It is important to remember that GI Bill education benefits are an important recruiting tool for the Armed Forces. We remain committed to working with Congress to ensure our nation is standing behind the commitment made to veterans who have honorably served our nation and who are working on the next chapter of their lives.”
Read the full letter to House leaders. (PDF)
The language regarding flight-training benefits for veterans is buried deep within a larger bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives today. The legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration.
“We at NBAA will continue working with other aviation organizations to have the benefits-limiting provision removed from the legislation as it progresses through Congress,” added Bolen.
NBAA was also among the signatories to an earlier letter on the legislation, sent last spring to congressional leaders. Read the full letter.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.