Sequester forces Air Force to suspend tuition assistance

The Air Force has followed the Army, Marines, and Coast Guard in suspending tuition assistance for active-duty members. The missing tuition assistance is, like so many other things, courtesy of the sequester and the Republican insistence that all of these indiscriminate cuts are preferable to closing some tax loopholes for corporations and the wealthy.

Air Force members already in classes or whose classes have already been approved will get their assistance, but others will have to find other sources of funding. While the GI Bill has not been cut by the sequester, the tuition assistance is a substantial source of education funding:

According to the Air Force, in fiscal year 2012, 104,422 Airmen used tuition assistance, which provided $194 million to Airmen pursuing their educational goals to take 277,255 courses. With that money, Airmen earned 26,611 associate degrees, 2,405 baccalaureate degrees, and 3,356 graduate degrees.

Even a single base'and the surrounding universities'will see widespread effects:

A spokesperson at Wright Patterson Air Force Base's 88th Air Base Wing said approximately 1,374 airmen at the base use tuition assistance at dozens of universities.

In an e-mail to servicemembers, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Cody said the change would mean more difficulties for enlisted airmen seeking promotion, but noted other options, including G.I. bill benefits and federal grants, remain open.

Republicans like to whine when sequestration hits their interests. But they're the ones who could end it. Tell Republicans to start giving a damn about the cuts that matter.