Rep. Courtney Votes To Ensure National Guard And Reserve Members Receive Equal Access To G.I. Benefits

Statement

Yesterday, Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) voted to pass the Guard and Reserve G.I. Bill Parity Act (H.R. 1836), which takes a strong step toward ensuring equal access to G.I. benefits.  The bill would ensure that members of the National Guard and Reserve, who often serve side-by-side with their Active-Duty counterparts yet do not currently receive the same access to vital G.I. Bill benefits, are honored with the benefits they have earned and deserve.

"We ask a lot of our Connecticut National Guard and Reserve members, and they're often serving right alongside Active-Duty servicemembers in all sorts of situations, including overseas deployments," said Rep. Courtney. "As I have said at the House Armed Services Committee, they are the "Swiss Army Knife' of our state. They respond to natural disasters, they administer COVID assistance, and they serve on overseas deployments. Every day they are serving our country in uniform should count towards their benefits, but right now they don't have the same access to G.I. Bill benefits that other servicemembers do--even though they're often doing the same jobs and incurring the same risks to themselves and their families. The Guard and Reserve G.I. Bill Parity Act would fix that, and would give all servicemembers, including our National Guard and Reserve members and their families here in Connecticut, the same access to these important educational benefits. Proud to help pass this bipartisan bill on behalf of our Connecticut National Guard members and their families."

Since the September 11th attacks, U.S. National Guard members and Reservists have become even more integral to America's national security strategy. Increasingly, these servicemembers are seeing heavier training schedules and more frequent deployments. Reserve troops often serve side-by-side with their Active-Duty counterparts, and communities across the country have relied on National Guard deployments during the COVID-19 pandemic to help fight the deadly virus.

However, current law falls short of ensuring that National Guard members and Reservists accrue the vital education benefits they have earned for their increased workload.  The Guard and Reserve G.I. Bill Parity Act (H.R. 1836) closes eligibility gaps in the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill to ensure that members of the National Guard and Reserve have access to benefits that reflect their contributions to our national security.

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