For Your Benefit
For and about Hawaii's military
See also: In The Military
Educational benefits
boosted for veteransQuestion: I heard the Department of Veterans Affairs raised the education reimbursement for veterans. Is this true?
Answer: Yes. The Veterans Education and Benefits Expansion Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-103) was signed by President Bush in January and boosts the monthly educational payments offered under the Montgomery GI Bill. At the top tuition reimbursement rate rises from $672 to $800 per month, almost 20 percent, for full-time students. It will climb to $900 next fall and $985 in October 2003. Rates were adjusted for veterans enrolled part time or for those with limited military service. In addition to covering traditional two-year and four-year college studies, a new VA program aimed at high-technology courses will allow veterans to use a lump sum from their benefit for certain courses such as those leading to certification of computer network professionals. Coverage of up to 60 percent of the cost of such high-tech courses will begin Oct. 1. The new law also improves educational assistance for eligible spouses and children of certain veterans, including veterans who died or are permanently and totally disabled as a result of a service-connected disability.
Q: I read recently that the separated spouse of a veteran may be able to receive a portion of the veteran's VA disability compensation. Can I get part of my divorced husband's VA disability payment if the divorce decree says I am entitled to a portion of his income? We have no children.
A: No. Once your divorce was final, VA was no longer able to consider apportioning any of your former husband's disability compensation to you.
Q: I served in Vietnam in 1966 and was diagnosed with lung cancer last December. Am I eligible for service-connected disability benefits based on exposure to Agent Orange?
A: Yes. The law recently changed, eliminating the previous requirement that respiratory cancer become evident within 30 years of a veteran's departure from Vietnam to qualify for the presumption for service connection based on exposure to herbicides.
If you have questions about your benefits as a veteran,
call Fred Ballard at the Veterans Affairs at 433-0049
or the Star-Bulletin at 529-4747.Gregg K. Kakesako, who covers military affairs for the Star-Bulletin,
can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
