Anchorage Daily News

U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens and Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich are taking opposing positions on a new GI bill to give more educational benefits to veterans.

Begich, a Democrat running for the Republican Stevens’ Senate seat, chose the issue Monday for his first news conference since entering the race last week.

“I urge Sen. Stevens to join me in providing veterans the full cost of college education, like the one he received when he returned from World War II, thanks to the GI Bill,” he said.

Alaska is a state with a large military population, and veterans’ issues are always a major focus of congressional races. Stevens flew support missions in the China-Burma-India theater for the Flying Tigers in World War II. But Begich said Stevens could be doing more to help today’s veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Begich called on Stevens to get behind a bill sponsored by Democrat Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia and Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. It would pay for four years of college for any post-9/11 veterans.

The proposal also includes an allowance for living expenses, based on local housing prices. Stevens spokesman Aaron Saunders said the military has concerns the bill doesn’t offer incentives for service members to re-enlist after their first hitch. There’s a worry people would leave the military as soon as possible to get school benefits.

“(Stevens) has concerns about what it may do to the retention rate,” Saunders said. Saunders said it’s now an all-volunteer force — unlike when Stevens served in World War II. The military has wartime responsibilities, and enlistment is a concern, he said.

Saunders said Stevens wants to work with the bill sponsors and Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president. McCain opposes the Webb-Hagel bill and has a proposal for more modest increases in veterans’ benefits.

“When it comes to the Senate floor there will be an opportunity for compromise,” Saunders said. Begich said no compromises are acceptable. Today’s veterans should get the same benefits as veterans of previous wars. The Webb-Hagel bill has 57 Senate supporters, including Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

Begich said the most a veteran can receive nowadays is $9,600 a year for four years, and the average is $6,000 a year. Begich said that’s thousands short of what it costs to attend the University of Alaska Anchorage — when all school and living costs are included.

Begich held his news conference at the UAA student union. Veterans who go to school there joined him, saying the existing benefits don’t go far enough.

Saunders said Stevens has a long history of supporting veterans. That includes major funding increases on the Senate appropriations committee for the Veterans Administration, he said.

Find Sean Cockerham online at adn.com/contact/scockerham or call him at 257-4344.

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