by Jeremy Hunt
Daily Lobo
A constitutional amendment to give veterans free tuition to New Mexico colleges died on the House floor when the session ended after it passed House committees and the Senate.
Senate Joint Resolution 15 aimed to expand New Mexico's Vietnam Veteran Scholarship program to include veterans of any conflict or war.
If passed, the amendment would go to voters in the 2008 election. It may be reintroduced during the next legislative session and appear on the ballot in 2008.
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Lee Pierre, a Vietnam veteran and certifying clerk for UNM's Veteran's Office, said the scholarship program shouldn't be limited.
"I don't see why we should be singled out," he said. "A war is a war, and anyone who's been in one deserves benefits when they get back."
Student Mario Tafoya, who is in the National Guard, said joining the military isn't an easy decision to make.
"All these soldiers go out and give their lives. They need to have some incentive," he said. "People don't realize what they've
(soldiers) done and take it for granted."
Pierre said the Legislature should have passed the amendment this year.
"Why wait when it could have been done in this session?" he said. "These are our men and women fighting for our country. We shouldn't postpone things. We should get things done."
Tafoya said free tuition would help veterans readapt to civilian life.
"It gives them something to look forward to when they come back," he said. "A college education would help them a lot - to know they have something to fall back on."
Pierre said veterans have enough to worry about when they return to the United States.
"When you just get back, you think about finances and everything else," he said. "If there's a way they can get that financial burden relieved, I think a lot more people will go to school."
Tafoya said the National Guard offers tuition assistance, but it expires 10 years after basic training is completed.
There are a lot of people in the National Guard who never get the chance to use the tuition assistance because they are active longer than 10 years, he said.
Someone should ensure the amendment gets on the ballot next year, Pierre said.
Second to health care, an
education is the best thing a returning soldier can get, Pierre said.
"Your future depends on your education," he said. "If you want to say, 'Thank you' to the troops, don't just use your mouth. Use your powers that you have in the Legislature."
