In an opinion piece written for Military Times, Navy Veteran and VCE Ambassador Larry Goerzen wrote in response to Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL) labeling the credentials earned by veterans at career schools as “worthless” and the institutions as “predatory.”
“Veterans are organizing to dispel any suggestions that they were tricked or duped into choosing a certain school and are outraged that political activists continue to suggest that their schools and credentials are worthless.” Tim McMahon, U.S. Air Force veteran and co-founder of Veterans for Career Education (VCE) testified today before the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity. In written testimony, Tim said: I am excited to be among the nearly 100 veterans that flew from across the country to Washington D.C., just before Memorial Day, and helped to found Veterans for Career Education (VCE). We founded VCE to support the right of veterans to use their earned education benefits, like the GI Bill®, to gain career skills at the college or institution of their choice. We fundamentally believe that education policy should not dictate where veterans use their earned education benefits.
Tim's full written testimony may be found here. Details on the hearing may be found here. In testimony before a Congressional panel charged with overseeing the GI Bill®, a Department of Veterans Affairs' official said that "Based on preliminary research, we identified 133 schools that would be potentially affected by closing the 90/10 loophole, which in turn would immediately impact approximately 60,000 students."
In an opinion piece written for Trib Live (local paper in Pennsylvania), Air Force veteran, president of Triangle Tech and CECU board member Tim McMahon wrote about the impact educational benefits his career. In the oped Tim writes:
“I am a beneficiary of the original GI benefit, as it was my only option for pursuing higher education. I was one of seven kids; my father was a city police officer, and the only way I could afford to pursue an education was to join the Air Force. Luckily for me and so many others, the Air Force did everything it promised to do for me. While I had no clue at the time what my plans would be following my time in the Air Force, I now know that if I had come out of the military and had limitations on where I could take my benefit, it would have changed the direction of my career.” In an opinion piece written for Tennessean (local paper in Tennessee), Navy Veteran and VCE Ambassador James Lillback wrote about how his service and educational journey lead him to a career school. In the oped, James voices his displeasure with lawmakers push to limit his and other veterans school choice at career schools, like Fortis Institute in Cookeville, Tennessee. James writes:
“I am disappointed to learn that some politicians want to limit the ability of veterans to use their earned GI Bill® at career schools like the one I attended. Politicians must understand that not every veteran wants to attend a public university. In fact, many of us—including myself—found the traditional college experience to be a bad fit.” In an opinion piece written for the Daily Comet, a local paper in Louisiana, VCE Ambassador and Army National Guard Veteran Kenneth Mejia wrote about his service and experience at a career school. In the oped, Kenneth talks about how his career school helped save his life. Kenneth writes:
"During one of our labs in class at Unitech, my instructor and education director ran an EKG test on me. The results revealed abnormalities. I immediately went back to the VA medical facility and, after finally being seen, it was determined that I had a fatal heart condition. Within days, I was undergoing surgery for a defibrillator." June 22nd marked the 75th anniversary of the GI Bill® (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944), signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 22, 1944.
Veterans for Career Education (VCE) celebrates this occasion by reaffirming our commitment to fighting for a veteran's freedom to choose where they learn under the GI Bill®. Veterans have the right to use their earned veteran education benefits at the school of their choice. Veterans for Career Education Responds to Rep. Shalala's Bill Limiting Education Choice for Veterans6/19/2019
Michael Dakduk, Co-Chair of Veterans for Career Education, responded to legislation released by Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL) that would limit veterans access to higher education:
“We’ve seen proposals to manipulate the 90/10 rule and change it to an 85/15 ratio. Rep. Shalala now says take it down to 80/20. Two Democrat candidates for president are calling for cutting off career schools from serving veterans on the GI Bill® altogether. It will never be enough for critics of taxpaying career schools. Veterans for Career Education (VCE) leaders Tim McMahon (USAF veteran) and Michael Dakduk (USMC veteran) wrote a letter to the editor that was published in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
In the letter, VCE veteran leaders called out The Chronicle for biased reporting related to career and trade schools. In the letter, Tim and Mike wrote: "In partnership with other veterans, we helped to found Veterans for Career Education to combat this bias among some in the media and in certain political circles. We implore The Chronicle to exercise balance in future reporting." Read the full letter here: https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/letters/stop-belittling-veterans-for-attending-taxpaying-career-colleges/ Two Democratic candidates for president, Elizabeth Warren and Julián Castro, are offering proposals to eliminate the use of the GI Bill® and other earned military and veteran education benefits at career colleges.
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