Iraq Veteran Initiates Bill Introduced in Congress This Week

CONTACT: Chrissy Stevens (212) 982-9699 or chrissy@iava.orgFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Iraq Veteran Initiates Bill Introduced in Congress Today  VETS Bill Helps Returning Servicemembers Complete Their Educations   NEW YORK - After returning from Iraq in 2005, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) Legislative Director Patrick Campbell drafted a bill to help veterans complete their educations.  Based on Campbell's leadership and recommendations, Senator Sherrod Brown (OH) and Representative Susan Davis (CA) introduced The Veterans Education Tuition Support (VETS) Act in Congress today. A YOUNG IRAQ VETERAN CHANGES THE LAW   Campbell, 29, initiated the bill after serving as a combat medic in Iraq with the Louisiana National Guard in 2005.  "I spent my first semester back at law school exchanging over 40 letters with my student loan lender trying to stop their harassing phone calls saying that I was defaulting on my student loan payments. According to my lender, due to my deployment, I had used up all of my permissible grace period.  Unlike my non-veteran classmates, I will be required to start repaying my loans the day after I graduate," said Campbell.  "I was told the only way I could be restored to my pre-deployment status was to rewrite the laws.  So I spent my last year of law school finding ways to change the law to help returning student-soldiers."   The VETS Bill will make it easier for returning service members to complete their educations by:  

• Requiring colleges to refund tuition or provide future credits for service members who deploy during the semester and restore their academic status when they return.
• Extending the period of time before returning service members must either reenroll in school or face repaying their student loans.
• Capping student loan interest rates at 6% during their deployment - a cap that already applies to all other kinds of debt.

  The VETS bill addresses the loopholes that have faced tens of thousands of veterans such as Todd Bowers, IAVA's Director of Government Affairs.  He returned from a second tour of duty in Iraq, only to confront serious hardship.  "I was almost finished with my summer semester at a private university when I was deployed right before my finals. The school did not offer me a refund or give me the option to take my finals early or repeat the course when I returned. A withdrawal notation was placed on my transcript. When I returned home I was given only a limited period of time to take my finals and my grades suffered accordingly. I even had to repeat one of the courses."   "The VETS bill is a great example of how one veteran can influence the legislative process.  The bill is not only an extraordinary feather in Patrick's cap, but stands to make a real difference in the lives of other service members," said Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director of IAVA.  "The VETS bill removes some of the primary obstacles which prevent returning troops from obtaining their degrees.  It helps reassure men and women in uniform that serving their country opens doors to higher education, instead of closing them.  IAVA is proud to endorse this critical legislation initiated by one of our own."    To arrange an interview with an IAVA member, please contact Michael Houston at (212)-982-9699 or michael@iava.org.  IAVA is the nation's first and largest organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Founded in 2004, IAVA represents more than 60,000 veterans and civilian supporters in all 50 states.  For more information, visit http://www.iava.org/.   ###