MERIDIAN -- The academic year that's about to wrap up is the first in which a new post 9/11 GI Bill helps veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan pay for college.
It doesn't cover some types of job training, but Idaho Sen. Jim Risch is co-sponsoring a bill to change that.
Right now, the GI Bill can only be used at schools that offer college degrees.
Legislation backed by Risch would allow veterans to use their GI Bill benefits to pay for vocational and technical schools like the Northwest Lineman College in Meridian.
There are more than 20 institutions across Idaho that will benefit from this legislation.
We're talking about places like barber colleges, cosmetology schools and truck driving schools.
For those in the military, Risch says this gives them more opportunity.
This bill currently sits in the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Risch says this bipartisan effort is well-received, but will probably have to attach itself to another piece of legislation to make its way through Congress.
We talked with a Lineman College employee about the impact this bill will have, and she says that every week she tells two to three people that the current GI Bill won't pay for their schooling. She's excited about the possibilities for students that will come here in the future.
