MADISON Wis.
Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton urged the Legislature on Wednesday
to honor the original intent of a tuition benefit program for Wisconsin
veterans by not putting any limits on how long they have to take advantage of
it.
Lawton, at the first of four news conferences planned around
the state, also called on the Legislature to provide $11.5 million in funding
for the tuition breaks as Gov. Jim Doyle had proposed. The Assembly budget
approved by the Republican majority eliminated all funding for the program,
which takes effect this fall.
And under both the Assembly and Senate versions of the
budget, the benefit could not be used for any graduate or professional school
and would expire 10 years after veterans leave the service.
One of those who voted for that budget, Rep. Terry Musser,
R-Black River Falls, said whether to fund the law is a political question that
will get resolved by the bipartisan conference committee working on a budget
compromise.
While Musser said he did not support an unlimited time for
using the benefit, he said that a 10-year deadline probably was too short.
“There’s probably reasonable compromise but that can’t
be arrived at in an hour or overnight,” he said.
