Federal buget cuts may affect military and veterans at Southeast

When a federal group known as the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction started by Congress failed to produce an agreement of how to cut over $1 trillion in spending, it triggered the federal budget cuts known as the sequester.

With this cutback enacted, $500 billion was set to be automatically taken from the U.S. Department of Defense. This included suspending the military's tuition assistance program, which helps veterans pay for their college tuition.

Congress recently approved a reprieve that will allow the program to continue until Sept. 31, the end of the fiscal year. However, the future of the tuition assistance program after the end of the fiscal year is undetermined, according to Southeast Missouri State University Director of Military and Veterans Services Jeremy McBroom.

"On Oct. 1, with different fundings out there and whatever Congress does, to my understanding the services are going to be able to alter their tuition assistance policies to change that somewhat, and we don't know what that's going to look like," McBroom said.

McBroom said the university is concerned about the suspension of the tuition assistance programs because it would affect not only veterans but also army reserve and national guard personnel as well. There are approximately 300 veterans enrolled at Southeast. McBroom also said that, though they do not know what it will look like after the beginning of the new fiscal year, he believes some portion of the program still will be in effect.

"I believe they will still retain that, especially in the guard and reserves because it is just a great incentive, and it helps out so many people," McBroom said. "Active duty members, often times they have better VA benefits because they've served longer and their VA benefit is greater, so the active duty side of the house may decide they can cut back on their tuition assistance and rely on the VA benefit more. Overall the reserve and the guard are going to have to keep that in order to be competitive in recruiting folks for their services."

Southeast student and veteran Brian Hopfer is one who would be affected by the sequestration. Hopfer, a member of the Missouri National Guard, said he will no longer be able to receive federal tuition assistance.

"If it weren't for the active duty GI Bill and the Post 9/11 GI Bill, I wouldn't be able to afford to go to college anymore," Hopfer said. "I think it's about $600 per credit hour is what we are going to lose. So if I'm taking 15 credit hours, do the math. That's a lot of money that we have to pay out of our pockets."

Hopfer said that one of the biggest concerns with the sequester is how it will affect the military members who give their GI benefits to their spouses. He said that one of his friends who he is in the National Guard with gave his Post 9/11 GI benefits to his wife.

"His wife is going to school on his benefits, so he doesn't have those GI Bill benefits anymore. He's relying solely on the tuition assistance," Hopfer said. "So either he will have to pay his full ride through college or quit going to school. And that's affecting a lot of people that are in his same shoes."