The purpose of this memorandum is to inform agencies of new educational benefits available to employees who are veterans and dependents of service members as a result of the Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (Post 9/11 GI Bill). The Post 9/11 GI Bill was passed into law on June 30, 2008, and is the most comprehensive educational benefit package since the original GI Bill was signed into law in 1944. The new bill went into effect on August 1, 2009. This information is provided to help agencies promote the program amongst its eligible employees to increase their career development opportunities and to better the Federal workforce.
Veterans and dependents of service members on active duty can avail themselves of educational opportunities and funding offered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop skills and knowledge benefiting them and the agencies in which they work. With these benefits, veterans and dependents of service members on active duty may enroll in programs offered at colleges and universities, private career schools and other institutions of learning—without any direct cost to the agency.
The Post 9/11 GI Bill encompasses three general components that enhance education benefits for service members and veterans. The bill:
- Creates a new veterans education benefits program for service members on active duty on or after September 10, 2001;
- Increases veterans education benefits under the preexisting Montgomery GI Bill; and
- Authorizes the Department of Defense (DoD) to develop a program that allows active-duty service members to transfer education benefits to their dependents.
In addition to the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the VA administers the following benefit programs (click on the link for additional information):
The DoD administers transferability of GI benefits from service members on active duty to their dependents. Dependents of service members may visit the DoD website for further information.
Veterans’ training, skills, discipline, team building and leadership experience cultivated within the military are all valuable assets to civil service employers and the Federal government as a whole. Therefore, by hiring veterans into the the Federal civilian workforce, the government is retaining individuals in whom a great investment has already been made. In addition, by further promoting the Post 9/11 GI Bill amongst employees who are veterans and dependents of service members, agencies will reap the increased benefits of a world class workforce without any direct cost.
cc: Human Resources Directors