Senate Leadership
April 23, 2008
Williams: Measures Provide Needed Support, Recognition For Veterans and Families
Urges favorable action from House of Representatives, governor
The Connecticut Senate today approved three bills to enhance benefits and recognition opportunities for military veterans living in Connecticut, legislation that Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn) applauded.
"These three bills provide much needed support for Connecticut's veterans and their families and recognition of the commitment and sacrifice that is an integral part of military service," said Senator Williams. "I strongly urge the House of Representatives and the governor to approve these measures. We, as a state and as a country, owe much to the brave service of our veterans and the dedication of their families-at the very least, we owe it to them to ensure that the honor and support systems they deserve are in place."
Senate Bill 48 offers tuition waivers to any state resident who is a dependent child or surviving spouse of a state resident killed in action while performing active military duty in the U.S. Armed Forces on or after September 11, 2001. Waivers will be available to the University of Connecticut, any of the four Connecticut State Universities and any regional community-technical college in the state. The legislation now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.
Senate Bill 307 allows for the posthumous awarding of the Connecticut Wartime Service Medal to veterans who passed away following the creation of the medal on June 30, 2005. The bill also removes the ban on the Connecticut National Guard's adjutant general and veterans' affairs commissioner awarding ribbons posthumously after June 30, 2005, and creates an achievement ribbon that the adjutant general can issue to the soldier, airman and noncommissioned office of the year in the National Guard.
Further, the legislation brings Connecticut into line with federal Department of Veterans' Affairs requirements and extends eligibility for burial in the state veterans' cemeteries and all associated honors to frontline members of the National Guard called into active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. The legislation now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.
House Bill 5438 makes permanent a pilot program created last year that allows the spouses of military personnel who voluntarily leave their jobs to accompany their spouse on a relocation required for active-duty service to qualify for unemployment compensation benefits. The bill, approved in a unanimous vote in the House of Representatives last week, now advances to the governor for action.
All three bills were approved unanimously in the Senate tonight. The 2008 regular legislative session adjourns on May 7.
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Senator Williams’ Derek Slap |
Listing of Leadership’s recent press releases. |
Senator Looney’s Derek Slap |
