ASSEMBLY CANDIDATE BROWN PRAISES REP. ADLER FOR VETERANS' RESOLUTION

Bill Brown, Democratic state Assembly candidate for the 8^th Legislative District, praised U.S. Rep. John Adler today for his Congressional resolution urging universities to join the Servicemembers Opportunity College (SOC) consortium – a national group of higher education institutions that accept college-level credits earned by members of the armed forces during their military service.

“This is an important win for South Jersey veterans and veterans nationwide,” said Brown, a former U.S. Navy SEAL and Iraq War veteran. “This action by Congressman Adler will help our returning servicemen and women earn their college degrees sooner and will hasten their transition into productive members of civilian society.”

The SOC allows service members to enroll in a participating school and continue their bachelor and graduate-level degree programs on school campuses, military installations, and armories within the United States and overseas. In New Jersey, Rutgers University joined the program in April, a few months after Congressman Adler first urged the university to participate.

Brown, who just finished his junior year with a 3.75 GPA as a Political Science Honors Student at Rutgers, played a key role in the University’s SOC membership with his founding in 2008 of the Veterans For Education organization on the school’s Camden campus. To draw attention to veteran’s issues, Brown last year ran the 65 miles from the Rutgers-Camden campus to the New Brunswick campus and raised more than $10,000 for his newly created Rutgers Military Veterans Scholarship Fund.

Brown said university membership in the SOC will save significant taxpayer dollars as well.

“Before SOC, student/soldiers would have no choice but to take the same course twice – once on their installation as part of their service training and again at a college or university after they leave the military,” Brown explained. “Their specific service branch would pay for the first course and the G.I. Bill would foot the on-campus bill the second time around. This ‘double dipping’ was wasting countless taxpayer dollars.

“It is this kind of forward thinking and decisive action that Debbie Sarcone and I will bring to the New Jersey State House when we are sworn into our 8^th District Assembly seats next January,” said Brown. He and Evesham Township Councilwoman and long-time community activist Debbie Sarcone are running for the state Assembly in Burlington County’s 8^th District in the November 3 general election.