| VA Announces “In House” Option to Implement IT Aspects of New GI Bill October 10, 2008/Department of Veterans Affairs WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Oct. 10 that it will rely upon its own workforce to set up the information technology programs needed to implement the educational benefits of the new Post-9/11 GI Bill. The Department’s announcement came after VA officials did not receive enough proposals from qualified private-sector contractors to create an information technology program that implements the new benefit. At no time did VA consider contracting out responsibility for actually administering this educational assistance. “Many private contractors were apparently reluctant to offer proposals because of external misconceptions as to the scope of the work involved. While it is unfortunate that we will not have the technical expertise from the private sector available to assist us in developing the information technology solution, the VA can and will deliver the benefits program on time,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. “The Post-9/11 GI Bill is unusually complex, with payments being tailored to tuition costs and going to both students and educational institutions,” said Patrick W. Dunne, the Under Secretary for Benefits. “Some benefits are determined by a school’s zip code, and others by in-state rates for tuition.” Dunne said the Department would have been remiss if it had failed to assess the ability of the private sector to assist VA to set up the technology aspects of the program’s implementation. The Post-9/11 GI Bill will provide educational assistance to veterans, military members, reservists and National Guard members who have served since Sept. 11, 2001. By law, the new benefits are scheduled to start on Aug. 1, 2009. —————— MilitaryConnection.com thanks you for your patronage. This web site is a portal of all things military, and we are quickly becoming the “go to” web site for all things military. We are constantly adding resources, content and features to benefit our audience. Our web site and all of the resources are free to users, and there is something for everyone. Additionally, we feature GI Bill articles like this to keep you informed. If you belong to a group or organization, we will post your press releases, special events, newsletters, professional conferences and seminars, reunions, job fairs, and videos to help spread the word. One of the areas of our focus is connecting candidates from the military community with outstanding government and civilian employers. We know that candidates from the military community across the board have a work ethic second to none. They make highly valued employees. MilitaryConnection.com has a multitude of employment resources including a Directory of over 30,000 employers, Job Tips, Columns, our new and improved Job Board, Virtual Job Fair and much more. We understand the importance of education. Please check out our new Education section, featuring the most up to date information on the new GI Bill, Education Articles, Education Benefits, and the Scholarship Directory featuring thousands of scholarships. When the next tour is back home, it’s on MilitaryConnection.com.
|