Tuition program for military spouses restarting Saturday

WASHINGTON — A Defense Department tuition assistance program for military spouses, suspended abruptly in February, will resume on Saturday, defense officials have told members of Congress.

The restart scheduled for Saturday will allow 136,583 spouses in the program to continue their career training, the Defense Department told Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, in a letter.

A second phase of the program’s restart is the planning stage, the department told Mr. Owens.

“While the pause was necessary, we regret that we did not appropriately notify enrollees and other program stakeholders in advance,” Defense Under Secretary Clifford L. Stanley said in a statement relayed to the congressman by the Pentagon’s legislative affairs office. “We know this action damaged our credibility with our military spouses, service members and the American public.”