"The new Post-9/11 GI Bill, which on average will double the value of education benefits for eligible veterans, will be launched on schedule next August and begin making payments to students and colleges next fall, just as Congress intended, says a senior Department of Veterans Affairs official," Military.com reports. "Keith M. Wilson, director of education service for the Veterans Benefits Administration, told Military Update Wednesday that concerns expressed by some lawmakers and veterans' service organizations that the new GI Bill might not start Aug. 1, 2009, as the law requires, are unfounded. However, Wilson said, payments will have to be processed manually, as occurs now with Montgomery GI Bill and other education benefit claims, because an automated processing system won't be ready for two more years."