VETERANS GATHER IN DOVER ADVOCATING SERVICES
Scores of veterans and their advocates gathered at legislative hall today for the inaugural “We the Veteran’s Day.”
Small groups of veterans fanned out across the building, looking to speak with lawmakers about issues impacting local veterans.
State rep Jeff Hilovski – a Republican from Long Neck – said they developed a list of legislative priorities after meeting with veterans last year.
Advocates Thursday were pushing for several initiatives – including naming a Delaware cabinet-level secretary of veterans affairs, increasing the number of veteran service officers, and giving tax benefits to Delaware veterans.
According to the U.S. census, there are roughly 70,000 men and women who served in the armed forces living in Delaware.
Participants at the event are advocating for several critical issues, each aimed at improving the lives of veterans:
- The creation of a cabinet-level Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Supporters believe that having such a position will better focus efforts to aid veterans and help Delaware take advantage of federal veterans’ funding that is unclaimed.
- Securing funding to increase the number of veterans service officers (VSOs) – troubleshooters that help veterans get the government benefits that they are due.
- House Bill 303: Current law allows school boards to provide a tax credit that eliminates the property tax liability for any veteran meeting a “100% disability” standard. This measure would reduce the disability standard to 80%.
- Senate Bill 201: Delawareans receiving military pensions are not required to pay state income tax on the first $12,500 of that revenue. This bill would double the amount of tax-excluded pension income to $25,000, phased in over three years.
- House Substitute 1 for House Bill 272 seeks to regulate entities that receive compensation for advising or assisting veterans in accessing their earned government benefits. The bill, which has drawn bipartisan support, is intended to protect veterans from being victims of bad actors.
“Today’s event grew out of shared interest by veterans’ groups and activists to act collectively and work cooperatively to elevate and advance the causes we all support,” Rep. Hilovsky said. “I see this as another important step in the process.”
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