Current Initiatives

• Senate Bill Would Extend Transferability to PHS, NOAA
• GI Bill Transferability - Request to Senate Committee on Veterans Affair
• Top Ten Reasons for Including PHS Officers in GI Bill 'Transferability'
• 'Transferability' Gains Another Congressional Advocate - March 3, 2010 Update
• GI Bill Transferability: Call to Action - December 1, 2009

Senate Bill Would Extend Transferability to PHS, NOAA

06/01/10 - A legislative change that would extend the popular Post-9/11 GI Bill transferability entitlement to the USPHS Commissioned Corps and NOAA Corps is included in a comprehensive package of proposed improvements to the Post-9/11 GI Bill of 2008.

The new proposals are the work of Sen. Daniel Akaka, Chairman of the Senate's Committee on Veterans Affairs. At a public hearing on April 21, Sen. Akaka promised he would introduce the legislative proposals by Memorial Day. The resulting bill is S. 3447. The official name is Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010.

Winning GI Bill transferability for PHS and NOAA has been the top legislative priority of COA for many months, and the focus of a long-running letter-writing campaign led by the COA Board's Legislation and Benefits Committee. "This represents an incredibly important and most welcome development in our long campaign to see that PHS officers are included in all Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits," said COA Executive Director Jerry Farrell. He credited letters from PHS officers with helping to raise awareness of the issue among key staff on Capitol Hill.

At the same time, Farrell made clear that the COA campaign is far from over. The importance of the inclusion of the PHS and NOAA transferability provision in what is known as the "chairman's mark" cannot be overstated. Still, it does not guarantee that this provision (or, for that matter, any other) will necessarily remain in the bill throughout debate and survive to win final passage in both chambers of Congress.

In remarks for the Congressional Record of May 27, Sen. Akaka described himself as one of three remaining U.S. Senators who benefited from the original GI Bill following World War II. "Now, with ten months of experience under the new program," he said, "I believe it is time to look at what improvements and modifications need to be made in order for the program to reach its potential."

Here is the full text of S. 3447, along with introductory remarks by Sen. Daniel Akaka, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs and lead sponsor of the bill. This information is from the Congressional Record of May 27, 2010. To see the reference to the USPHS and NOAA, scroll down to Section 6 and then Subsection (b).   

GI Bill Transferability - Request to Senate Committee on Veterans Affair

04/21/10 - Click here to see COA's request to the U.S. Senate's Committee on Veterans Affairs. The written statement was submitted "for the record" in advance of the Committee's April 21 oversight hearing on implementation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Top Ten Reasons for Including PHS Officers in GI Bill 'Transferability'

COA has come up with 'Top Ten' reasons for including PHS officers in GI Bill Transferability. Feel free to use any or all of them as you write your own U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative.

Update: 'Transferability' Gains Another Congressional Advocate

03/03/2010 - Washington - U.S. Representative Carol Shea-Porter, Democrat from New Hampshire, has signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 3657, the House bill that would extend G.I. Bill transferability to the PHS Commissioned Corps and the NOAA Corps. The popular two-term Congresswoman, who represents her state's First Congressional District (Manchester, Dover, and surrounding areas), signed on to the bill yesterday. The information was reported earlier today on the website maintained by the Library of Congress, http://thomas.loc.gov/.

To see the letter that convinced the Congresswoman to sign on, click here.

To see Rep. Shea-Porter's gracious response, click here.

The COA Legislation and Benefits Committee is encouraging PHS officers to write to their U.S. Senators and Representatives about transferability and then share their letters with COA Government Relations Director, Judith Rensberger at jrensberger@coausphs.org.

Click here for sample letters you may use as a guide for writing your own letters.

December 1, 2009 - GI Bill Transferability: Call to Action

COA asks all members to write their U.S. Senators and Representative in support of providing transferability of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits for PHS Commissioned Corps officers. Although PHS officers are included in the new GI Bill, they are not included in the transferability provision, which would permit them to transfer their own unused educational benefits to immediate family members. 

There is a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to extend GI Bill transferability to PHS and NOAA officers. The bill is H.R. 3657, introduced by Rep. Ciro Rodriguez. At this time, there is no companion bill in the Senate. You can help in the following ways:

• Write to your Representative in the House and ask him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 3657 to extend transferability of GI Bill benefits to PHS officers.
• Write to both of your Senators and ask them to support the creation of a companion bill to H.R. 3657 to extend transferability of GI Bill benefits to PHS officers.

COA has created a document that contains rules to follow and helpful tips for writing your elected representatives. Please read it before writing your representatives. 

After you write your elected representatives, please send copies of all your letters to COA Government Relations Director Judith Rensberger (jrensberger@coausphs.org). COA will send follow-up letters to your Representative and Senator, thus doubling the impact of your own efforts!

You have a lot to gain (college education for a child or spouse) and little to lose (an hour and a half to write the letters, and the cost of a few stamps). Let your representatives in Congress know how you feel, then spread the word to your friends and colleagues. The more PHS officers who participate in this call to action, the better our chances at success. This effort will also serve to realign our benefits with other sister services and maintain parity with them, which is vital to our future. If you believe we deserve this benefit, then please help us secure transferability for current and future officers and their families!