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Early this morning, State Senator Martha Marx (D-New London), Senate Chair of the Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, led the Senate’s passage of legislation that would expand access to the Military Relief Fund.
“When service members suffer injuries, or a death in the family, that can have catastrophic effects on household expenses. This bill recognizes that and takes care of our military,” said Sen. Marx. “This simple change in policy makes sure the Military Relief Fund is providing better relief to military members and their families.”
Senate Bill 238, “An Act Expanding Eligibility For Grants From The Military Relief Fund,” would allow for access to grants for a service member and their immediate family members to pay expenses for essential personal or household goods or services if those expenses are a hardship due to a serious injury, illness or death in the family. Current law allows for grants if a service member’s military service would create a hardship. The bill retains the current grant amount cap of up to $5,000.
This bill received strong support from military advocates. Alison Weir, executive director of the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, testified to the Committee that this bill’s expansion of funds is the right thing to do as it recognizes situations where veterans or their family members experienced serious illness that reduced their earning ability; the fund’s expansion can provide relief to veterans struggling in such situations. Daniel DePasquale, vice president of the National Guard Association of Connecticut, testified its expansion is “certainly a worthwhile expenditure.”
The bill previously passed the Veterans and Military Affairs Committee by a 20-0 vote March 14. It now heads to the House. |
