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State Representative Kurt Zellers
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5502
For more information contact: Austin Bleess 651-296-5529
OP/ED COLUMN
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Fellow District 32B residents,
This year over 2,500 bills were authored by members of the legislature.
Some of these bills become laws, but many do not. In an effort to wade
through all of these bills and give you an idea of what became law and
what was vetoed by the Governor, I will start a series of email updates
on the major issue areas. Some of these areas will include education,
environment, transportation, healthcare, taxes, and public safety, just
to name a few. As we go through this series I would encourage you to
contact me with any questions you might have about these topics. And
please contact me if you have a question or suggestion for a future
email update.
This week’s email update is a recap of action taken to help our
Veterans, Military Members, and their families.
More than 580 Minnesotacommunities are represented by more than 3,000
military personnel who recently returned from active duty in Iraqand
Afghanistan. The current group of combat veterans is different than
ever before. Approximately 15 to 20 percent will be women, and about 40
percent to 45 percent have spouses and/or children.
Making the transition from battlefield back to Minnesota is often
difficult for soldiers and often misunderstood by family members who
have not gone through the transition. We provided $1.5 million for the
National Guard reintegration program to help soldiers returning from
active duty. An additional $80,000 was provided for a psychological
counseling report of the needs of soldiers returning from active duty.
$30,000 earmarked for a telephone counseling referral hotline to provide
ready access to those most at need.
Grants to County Veteran Service Organizations (CVSO) in the amount of
$1.5 million were included in the Omnibus Agriculture and Veterans
Affairs bill. Major highlights include emphasis on reduction of
homeless veterans and reintegration of returning active duty vets.
These grants are in addition to county budgets and counties may not
reduce their CVSO budgets upon receipt of a grant. We also provided
$1.5 million for veterans outreach, to further assist homeless and under
served veterans get the help they need and receive the benefits that
they have earned.
We made $200,000 available for depleted uranium screening tests for
veterans returning from Iraqand Afghanistan. Some of these soldiers
were exposed, knowingly or unknowingly, to many harmful chemicals
including uranium while serving abroad. It is necessary to provide
these screening tests for the health of these veterans.
We passed $900,000 in additional funding for the veteran’s higher
education assistance program. This puts veteran service officers on
college campus in order to help veterans and returning military
personnel adjust to college life.
We also provided educational assistance for war survivors and veterans
totaling $52,000 for child and spousal education benefits. This equals
a $750 education stipend per person per year. Children and spouses of
deceased veterans are eligible. This is in addition to the free tuition
at state institutions already received by spouses and children of
deceased veterans.
These just a few of the many highlights on what the Legislature did for
our brave men and women who valiantly served their country. If you have
any questions about specific areas that are not mentioned or if you
would like a more detailed explanation of some of the areas I discussed –
please feel free to contact me by replying to this email or calling my
office.
Thank you again for signing up for these Legislative Updates! And,
please email me with any questions or policy areas that you would like
to see explained or discussed in a future Legislative Update. Thank you,
again, for the privileged of representing you in St. Paul!
Best personal regards,
Kurt
News Items
- Loss of a friend, Stanley Crooks - (Posted: 2012-08-25 00:00:00)
- MINNESOTA LEGISLATURE APPROVES $167.5 MILLION DISASTER RELIEF BILL Reforms targeted at accountability included in bill - (Posted: 2012-08-24 00:00:00)
- HOUSE SPEAKER KURT ZELLERS AND SENATE MAJORITY LEADER SENJEM ANDSTATEMENT ON TODAY’S SUPREME COURT HEARING ON VOTER ID AMENDMENT - (Posted: 2012-07-17 00:00:00)
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