History

• Congress passed the G.I. Bill in 1944.George Washington Monument image by TRIPHOTO from Fotolia.com
  
  The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, also called the G.I. Bill of Rights, caused so much controversy in Congress that it was nearly stalled as it was being debated. Some questions being floated around included why returning servicemen should be sent to college--this was a privilege reserved for the wealthy. Other congressmen were concerned that paying $20 per week to a serviceman would reduce his incentive to seek employment.
  
  The G.I. Bill came about because of what happened to returning servicemen after World War 1 ended--at that time, these veterans received little more than a train ticket and $60 to get back home. The Great Depression 11 years later made matters even worse for these veterans. Struggling veterans marched on Washington, D.C., in 1932 in an effort to get promised bonuses.
  
  

Significance

• Service members can use G.I. Bill funding for college education.stacked books image by Chad McDermott from Fotolia.com
  
  The G.I. Bill gave Congress a chance to redeem its former treatment of returning veterans. Because of the bitterness of the march on Washington, Congress was well aware of the anger of those veterans and didn't want a repeat of history. The bill allowed returning veterans to go to college for the first time so they could find better-paying employment. Another provision of the G.I. Bill allowed these veterans to buy homes, businesses or farms so they have a place to live and work. The bill gave the Veterans Administration responsibility for administering the law's provisions.
  
  

Effects

• Returning service members can also get a home loan.houses image by Patrik Lidaj from Fotolia.com
  
  The G.I. Bill helped the United States avoid a flood of millions of veterans into the job market. Veterans who would ordinarily have tried to find employment decided to take advantage of the bill's educational provisions and went to college for the first time. This helped to smooth out the feared influx of job applicants. One of Congress' fears was unrealized by the returning veterans--less than 20 percent of the funds set aside for unemployment pay was ever utilized by these returning service members.
  
  

Features

• The best-known feature of the G.I. Bill is the opportunity for service members to earn a college degree. This option remains today, with variations such as the Montgomery G.I. Bill for both active duty and selected reserve components. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Congress added a provision for veterans with at least 90 days of "aggregate service on or after Sept. 11, 2001." Individuals who have been discharged with a service connected disability after 30 days can also use provisions of the bill provided they received an honorable discharge. This portion of the bill became effective for training on Aug. 1, 2009.
  
  

Benefits

• Society benefits from this bill because it is able to take advantage of veterans who have obtained a college degree. As demonstrated in 1945 and 1946, a huge influx of returning veterans doesn't have to mean that the job market will be flooded with applicants unable to find work. Veterans benefit because they can use the option of going to school, obtaining a college degree and improving their prospects of employment at a higher annual salary. In 1956, when the original G.I. Bill expired, 7.8 million out of 16 million World War II veterans had been able to take advantage of either a training or an education program.