(Washington Insider Magazine) -Revived legislation that is set to provide financial reparations to Black American World War II veterans and their families has been presented by a group of congressional democrats. The bill is in response to the pitfalls of the original GI Bill that resulted in many Black service members being unable to receive the benefits that were supposed to be given to them.
While society is becoming more aware of disproportionate advantages that shape our history, the presentation of this reformed legislation has left quite an impact and promises a nationwide growth.
In 1944, the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act was signed into law by President Roosevelt and was intended to help those that protected our nation during World War II transition into civilian life, allowing them to pursue their dreams when they returned home. On paper the legislation was unbiased, but the reality of our society during this time was reflected in how the benefits were distributed and if they would make a difference.
Every grants required the approval of a local veteran officer before they could be accessed, which consequently allowed for the bias of one individual to interfere with the quality of the process. What originally was set to include any veteran with more than 90 days served and an honorable discharge, suddenly became muddled with imbalanced opportunity that relied on one person’s ability to not be prejudice.
The Democratic lawmakers believe the inequality of the benefits can be traced back to the fact that most of the veteran officers during this time were white. That whether Black World War II veterans were being actively discriminated against or they were facing the institutional racism in our country afterword, the value of their benefits was less than they deserved.
In fact, the cash equivalent of their benefits was only 40% of what white veterans received.
More than 70 years later, the GI Bill Restoration Act seeks to restore the benefits that were denied to veterans after World War II. The original grant that was meant to provide financial assistance for education, housing, and security has been restored and would now provide just that to any surviving family of Black service members.
The legislation would require the Government Accountability Office to launch a panel of independent experts that would evaluate the imbalance of grant distribution. It would expand coverage of GI Bill educational assistance and the VA Loan Guaranty Program to include any Black World War II veteran and their descendants that are living at time of the bill’s effect.
With this bill, lawmakers hope to determine a dollar amount that accurately describes the numerical value of loss Black World War II veterans experienced after their time as a service member. The goal is for this bill to acknowledge the unequal opportunity that shapes the history of the United States, and work to reverse the impact in any way possible.
The bill was presented on Thursday in honor of Veteran’s Day by Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, whose father was a World War II veteran. Before that, the House version was unveiled by the House Majority Whip James Clyburn and Rep. Seth Moulton.