When Veterans returned home from World War II, the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 was there to make sure they received well-deserved benefits for their service. It would become better known as the GI Bill, and while that specific piece of legislation expired, the term is still used to refer to similar methods of providing Veterans with such benefits. Today, there's pressure to provide an expansion of such benefits for members of the National Guard. It has already passed the House, but now the pressure is on for the Senate to pass the National Guard GI Bill expansion before 2023 arrives. Read next:Do I Use My GI Bill for Dependents or Myself? What To Consider

Current National Guard GI Bill Eligibility and Benefits

Does the National Guard get GI Bill benefits? Yes, but there is a call for a National Guard GI Bill expansion due to the restraints hindering some service members. In the end, the movement aims to provide an increasingly needed part of the U.S. military with much-deserved benefits. National Guard GI Bill requirements include service for a minimum of 90 days (excluding basic training). Full scholarship is provided to those who have a time commitment of 36 months. At least 30 days of service is required for a discharge for a service-related injury. Title 32 orders issued by the National Guard do not count toward GI Bill benefits unless they are issued to support a presidentially declared national emergency. State governors remain in actual control of their National Guard forces when they issue Title 32 orders, which are considered federal active-duty orders and paid for by the federal government. Data shared by the American Legion shows that Army National Guardsmen spent more than 1,000% of their time on domestic missions from 2016 to 2021, from 818,496 man-days to 9.5 million man-days. There have also been discrepancies in which events count toward Title 32.

The Senate Needs To Make a Move Before the End of the 117th Congress

Organizations are calling upon senators to help National Guardsmen and those in the reserves receive extended eligibility for the GI Bill. Should they fail to do so before Congress ends its current session, the process would have to restart. The specific bill in question is the National Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act of 2021. There are plenty of deployments for the National Guard that don’t provide GI Bill benefits. Currently, time served while on active duty and training isn’t counted. Despite the bill's passing in January 2022, the end of the year is here, and the Senate has yet to do its part. "Given the shared focus on supporting our National Guard and Reserve service members, we implore you to come to a bipartisan agreement that passes GI Bill parity before the end of the 117th Congress. Our service members have earned it," read a letter from 15 service organizations for Veterans, spearheaded by the American Legion. It is not clear whether or not the full Senate will consider the bill, but the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee advanced a similar, but slightly different, bill known as the Guard, Reserve and Active Duty Educational Assistance (GRAD) Act late in 2021. The GRAD Act differs primarily from the House bill in that it would not count monthly weekend drills nor Reservists' annual drills toward GI Bill eligibility, but some other National Guard exercises would count.

Why Is the National Guard GI Bill Expansion Even in Limbo?

There are several ways to go about things, but the fact that the National Guard GI Bill expansion is tied up through the red tape of running a Republic is a bit of a mystery. Not only from the political side of things, where bipartisan politicians generally don’t stray too far away from supporting the troops. Nor from the sentiment of actually supporting troops who help defend our country. There are also the very logistics of running a volunteer military to consider. A recurring theme across the U.S. military as a whole is the compounding reality that recruitment goals aren’t going according to plan. As the nation transitions from the Middle East to focusing on conflicts in Europe and Asia, this is one of the many issues it continues to face. Many reasons entice people to serve in the U.S. military, but it’s impossible to deny the financial benefits that factor in. This is one of the main reasons it’s a bit perplexing that this possible incentive to help bolster our military forces hasn’t found its way through the Senate as of this writing. This includes financial incentives for education. Because the Congressional Budget Office estimated a cost of $1.9 billion over the next decade for this expansion, it will be interesting to see if a House led by Republicans would pass such legislation. But interesting is not something supporters want to see, as this is a key issue for Republicans who do not support the idea of expanding benefits. If the bill passes, it will help empower and expand our fighting force. A failure to pass could hinder both current and future volunteers. Money and recruitment aside, the more we think about GI Bill benefits, the less impact is being made. Passing the National Guard GI Bill expansion will help say "thank you" to those serving to keep our nation safe, among other promising benefits for the U.S. military. Suggested read:Use Your GI Bill Benefits at the American Military University

The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. Photo by Zachary Lehr Arkansas National Guard Public Affairs Office