Nearly two years ago, Stephen Lee uprooted his wife and two children from their home in Clarksville, Tenn., to study political science here at the University of Wisconsin.
As a 31-year-old Army veteran, Lee took advantage of one of the most successful tuition assistance programs in the nation?s history — the G.I. Bill. In exchange for his nine years of military service, the federal government agreed to pay for Lee?s college education.
But on a brittle February night, the rules suddenly changed. At a Vets for Vets meeting on campus, Lee listened in disbelief as a university official told his classmates that the government had reneged on its original promise. In December, Congress voted to cut their G.I. Bill benefits.