Kentucky Treasurer Proposes Military Family Bill of Rights

[Gunner Carvo]

At an August 17 news conference, Kentucky State Treasurer Jonathan Miller unveiled a ?Military Family Bill of Rights?, intended to protect the interests of active-duty military personnel, veterans and their families. Treasurer Miller was joined at the conference by U.S. Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), and U.S. Representative Ben Chandler (D-KY, 6th). Former NMFA President Col. (Ret) James Mutter, represented NMFA and spoke on behalf of military families.

The text of the bill of rights can be viewed at http://www.kytreasury.com/. It calls for protections in employment, finance, and health care for active duty, National Guard, and Reserve servicemembers and their families, as well as veterans. The bill of rights proposes that:

Every military family shall be provided free, comprehensive financial education.
No military family shall be subjected to predatory financial practices.
All military families shall have access to counseling and emotional support when a family member is deployed, activated or killed or disabled in action.
Every military family shall be provided a safety net to protect them from a life of poverty.
The spouse of a servicemember shall be able to take reasonable leave when his or her spouse has been deployed and shall be freed from administrative red tape to earn a living.
Adequate and appropriate death benefits shall be provided for all veterans and members and retirees of the Reserve and the National Guard.
The right of every National Guard member or Reservist called into active duty to receive supplemental income shall be encouraged through tax incentives to private employers and through state tax deductions for active service.
Veterans and members of the Guard and Reserve shall receive adequate and affordable health care for their entire lives.
Job preferences for veterans shall be provided by the state and encouraged through tax incentives to private employers, and veterans shall be protected from penalties due to time spent in service.
Military families shall receive access to affordable higher education and occupational training and shall receive help in identifying and obtaining other benefits that are available to them.
While, specific legislation would have to be passed or funding provided in many cases to implement the goals in the bill of rights, NMFA applauds the focus by Kentucky leaders on these issues affecting military families.

[Jerry D]

Another Good Step in the right direction