"This Will Harm Veterans And Limit Their Employment Opportunities In The Aviation Industry."

EAA joined 14 other aviation organizations in jointly opposing a bill in the House of Representatives that includes a cap on flight training benefits available to United States military veterans.

H.R.4874, the bill in question, caps payments for flight training programs and virtually guarantees that U.S. veterans seeking to use their GI Bill benefits to pursue a career as a professional pilot will not have the necessary funds provided to complete flight training. Other degree programs at public colleges or universities are not capped in a similar manner, meaning fields involving flight training are unfairly disadvantaged.

The letter notes that, "...we are strongly opposed to HR 4874 which contains a provision capping veterans’ flight training benefits. This severely undermines the important goal of helping our nation’s veterans enter a field where they are desperately needed. Civil aviation supports more than 7 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and $1.5 trillion of economic impact, creating over 11.5 million jobs — and it is seeking pilots. Today’s flight training programs prepare tomorrow’s pilots of police and firefighting helicopters, air ambulances, charter and corporate aircraft, and airliners."

The 15 aviation groups noted in a letter sent to top House officials that they are committed to working with Congress to deliver on commitments made by the nation to its veterans, and they urged the House to remove the cap on flight training expenses. "Capping funds available for flight training degree programs virtually guarantees that veterans seeking to use their GI Bill benefits to enter the aviation industry will have insufficient funds to achieve their goals. They will either abandon their pursuit or be burdened with significant personal debt through either expenditure of personal funds or taking on of student loans. This will harm veterans and limit their employment opportunities in the aviation industry."

FMI: www.benefits.va.gov, www.eaa.org