A key senator hopes that new revisions to a pending education-benefits measure would stand a better chance of passage. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, offered changes to the bill, S. 3447, which would make the Department of Veterans Affairs the "payer of last resort" for veterans who have other means of obtaining financial aid. The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) reports that Akaka hopes the changes would make the measure, which would expand eligibility for Post 9-11 GI Bill benefits, more palatable among Senate colleagues who have concerns about costs. The changes would still cost $2.3 billion over a 10-year period, MOAA reports. Under the measure’s key points, eligibility would be expanded to include National Guard members called up for state duty, provide a housing stipend for beneficiaries who take online courses, pay as much as $1,000 in book allowances for service members and spouses while they are on active duty, upgrade the subsistence allowance for disabled veterans who use the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program benefits, and cover an array of licensure and certification tests. MOAA adds that the bill likely will not go anywhere until the new Congress meets.