Budget Failure for VEA...Back to Backing our Bill

I  Summary of Recent Events: The bipartisan and near unanimous VEA failed to make it into the 1 April 2016 NY State Budget despite the best efforts of Senator Larkin,  Assembly Woman Paulin,  the full support of every state veterans' group, every state public union,  and a full court press from interested veterans and their friends.


Governor Cuomo (and his allies in the Democratic Assembly) again has made it perfectly clear he is against the VEA. He vetoed it in 2014, he vetoed it in 2015, he negotiated against it in 2016 after promising to reform the current law, and now he has  prevented its presence in the 2016 budget. He has experienced no significant backlash to his actions against VEA, there is no possibility of overriding his vetoes,  and has cloaked himself in the false guise of fiscal responsibility. He will be the governor for at least the next 3 years.

II  Our way Forward: Senator Larkin and Assemblywoman Paulin will push (with our assistance) VEA through all the various committees and votes necessary to pass the bill in the legislative branch.

S7160 : Apr 01, 2016 referred to finance, Apr 11 2016  1st Report Cal. 591
A09531: Apr 11, 2016 reported referred to ways and means

Following that time, Governor Cuomo will veto, sign or negotiate the VEA.

III Respond to falsities concerning the bill.

  A. When and where it is falsely described as a bill for 'peacetime service' (for example in the April 1 2016 Times Union article, here) respond vigorously. Remind the author the majority of veterans who will be newly eligible for the existing military service credit buyback program  are wartime veterans of the current  Gulf War Era. Not peacetime at all. Further remind the author that combat veterans of Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Somalia (Blackhawk Down) are currently excluded from the existing buyback program and under the new bill will be eligible. Not peacetime either.

  B. When and where it is falsely described as a free benefit, respond vigorously.  Veterans want the opportunity to PURCHASE military service credit as part of the current and well-established  BUYBACK program. Our service in defense of the United States (and New York State) should not disadvantage us vis a vis our non-serving peers in the New York State retirement system.

  C. When and where it is falsely described as a large and expensive new program respond vigorously. It is a modest reform of a current program . Note that the original intent of the law is for all wartime veterans to be included and yet some  wartime veterans of the Gulf War Era are now excluded (and all of these veterans, of course, aided in the war effort). Those who served in active combat in Somalia and Afghanistan are among those excluded. Further, the contributions of peacetime soldiers (including Cold War soldiers) should be honored. 

  D. Educate yourself. Get to know these three slides intimately so you can explain the glaring inequities in the current military service credit buyback system.

           

Crunch Time: Call and Email, Call and Email, Call and Email

1. The hard cold facts:

    a. Funding to reform the military service credit program must be in  the one-house budget (March 14, 2016).  Done! Assemblywoman Paulin's 14 March announcement is here and Senator Larkin's 14 March announcement is here. 

    b.  Between 14 March and 1 April one-house budget items are added (or not) to the Governor's budget as amendments. VEA must survive the inevitable horse-trading and competing priorities of House, Senate, and Governor's office to become an amendment.  Veterans phone calling and emailing the right representatives at the right time  will prove decisive at this stage. VEA must be one of the amendments that survives to the ultimate budget.  FAILURE 31 March 2016.

ASSEMBLY

William Magnarelli, Co-Chair  518-455-4826  MagnarW@assembly.state.ny.us

SENATE

Hugh T. Farley, Co-Chair (518) 455-2181 Farley@nysenate.gov

   c. The final budget must contain the precise funding necessary to provide for any military service credit reform mutually agreed to in step b, above.*  The final budget will be voted by the Senate and House on April 1, 2016.

    d. The Governor may wield a line-item veto for any item he disagrees with. Discussions at 'b' above must forestall/prevent this possibility.

Any failure at a, b, or c means a definite governor  veto  (line item or bill) for military service credit reform (as occurred in both 2014 and 2015).

2. You (and all who support our veterans) must call and email**:

   a. Your State Assembly Representative (here)

   b. Assembly Speaker Heastie (518-455-3791, Speaker@assembly.state.ny.us)

   c. Assemblywoman Paulin (sponsor, 518-455-5585, PaulinA@assembly.state.ny.us)

   d. Your State Senator (here) 

   e. Senate President Flanagan (518-455-2071,  flanagan@nysenate.gov)

    f. Senator Larkin (sponsor, 518-455-2770, larkin@nysenate.gov ) 

 3. Message Discipline:

• Encourage him/her to fight to include the funded  VEA (A04313 and S04124) as an amendment to the Governor's budget. It is the priority for including all veterans in the current but outdated military service credit program.
• Remind the representative that the current system includes and excludes arbitrarily (Iraq - In, Afghanistan - Out, etc) and unfairly discriminates against female veterans.
• Remind the representative that your vital service to the defense of the United States (including New York State) should not work to your disadvantage in the New York State retirement system.
•  No whining, no backfiring arguments.

4. Move out!

 _______________________________________________________________________________

*All dates are subject to change

**More names will be added as I learn the names of the various table chairs during the process at 1, b, above.

Governor Cuomo AWOL on Military Service Credit Reform

Despite promising to work to reform and expand the state's military service credit program, the Governor failed to include any funding or any mention at all in his budget. His promise is here.


The Daily News noted this discrepancy here on February 8, 2016.


Assemblyman Kieren Michael Lalor has skewered the Governor in his February 16 letter here.

NYS Assemblyman Brian Curran  rallied for  the cause Friday, February 19, 2016, see video here

• His February 10th announcement for the rally/press conference is here

 This Governor's promise, of course, came after his  two consecutive vetoes (2014 and 2015) of bipartisan and widely-supported bills enacting military service credit  reform.

Best case scenario would have been an allocation in Gov Cuomo's budget proposal for an expansion of the program to cover certain of the excluded veterans (January 13) ...then an allocation in Senate and House budgets (released around March 15) to cover all excluded veterans ...then a compromise negotiation or trade-off between the two in the NYS final budget on April 1, 2016.

Since the best case scenario has not unfolded it may be that a compromise negotiation or trade-off between zero expansion (contents of the Gov Cuomo budget proposal) and Veterans' Equality Act (VEA) is now the best case scenario. To ensure this occurs, call your reps and the legislative leadership to get a funded VEA in the house budgets...success in our efforts will be revealed March 15 (or thereabouts).

Negotiations between the Governor's office and legislative staffers is ongoing.

The current law on military service credit, its most glaring defects, and the proposed cure presented by the two previously vetoed bills  (A04313 and S04124) are presented below:

The following illustrates  the particular absurdities and inequities in current law:

New Military Service Credit Bills for 2016

Notwithstanding any negotiations that may or may not have taken place for the 2016 legislative process, the following military service credit  bills have been reintroduced or   introduced (January 6, 2016):

 A04313 and S04124  Provides up to three years of service credit to members of public retirement systems of the state for military service rendered during times of peace; removes requirement that such military service occur during specified periods of hostilities; requi...

 S01101 (matching bill not yet reintroduced) Increases years purchaseable to 7 (seven) and adds Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Pakistan, Somalia, Turkey (etc) to the list of  eligible geographic areas (w/certain dates)...

 A06453 and S04546  Provides credit to members of public retirement systems of the state for military service in certain hostilities in Afghanistan.

A07534 and S05065 Veterans retiring prior to 1998 who otherwise qualify for the military service credit program...

S04525 (matching bill not yet reintroduced) Adjusts dates for Lebanon (moves Lebanon start date 10 months prior to current start date)

S03033 (matching bill not yet reintroduced) Provides three years of retirement service credit to certain retirement system members discharged from military service due to injuries suffered during certain military conflicts even if they did not serve three years in the military.



There are other bills without matching legislation. See LegiScan

Horrid and self defeating language of  the twice-vetoed  A4313 and S4124 is repeated as presented.

Happy Veterans Day - Great News for Veterans

Awesome  Breaking News...Read the carefully constructed and carefully written press release  here .


This is a HUGE step forward for NY's excluded veterans.  

       A close reading of the press release (again, here) indicates the stakeholders' concern with excluded   (Afghanistan, Somalia,  etc) combat veterans and with women veterans denied the opportunity for earning service credit during wartime and conflicts. 
      Thus Assembly Woman Paulin's quote:

"...veterans who served in these conflicts have been unfairly excluded from purchasing pension credit for far too long. I am especially pleased that women veterans who have been disproportionately excluded, will finally be able to obtain the benefits they are entitled to.”

Also in the mutually agreed quote:

"...expand the pool of eligible veterans that were not previously covered by law and will also remove restrictions that prevented women from being eligible for the additional pension credit because of prior military policy that barred women from being deployed to a military conflict." 

And in an excerpt from the final quote:

"....including everyone who served during conflicts as well as our sisters who were not eligible to serve in combat - to buy back military time for their pensions."

       Reforming the program to include the overlooked combat veterans and all those who served during our recognized conflicts and wars seems a safe way to describe aims of all those quoted in the press release. 

       In response to the governor's double and override-proof veto (2014 and 2015) of The Veterans' Equality Act, this site has already suggested important, wise,  and realistic reforms to the current buyback law. The press release does present very similar ideas. See this site's propsed reforms here.

        The absence of other categories of veterans from the press release should not be read as their complete exclusion from military service credit reform.    Look for more info and active negotiations as we approach the Governor's budget (early January 2016) and later April 1, 2016 budget deadline.


 ________________________________________________________________________________



Initial Press Coverage:

http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/243207/following-veto-cuomo-agrees-to-push-for-veteran-pension-credit-legislation/

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2015/11/8582558/cuomo-plans-push-veteran-measure-he-previously-vetoed   

http://www.wgrz.com/story/news/politics/2015/11/11/on-veterans-day-ny-reaches-deal-on-veterans-pension-credits/75590480/

http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2015/11/11/governor-cuomo-expands-federal-aid-to-military-vets-on-veterans-day.html

http://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/new-york/2015/11/11/state-reaches-deal-veterans-pension-credits/75602932/

http://www.wgy.com/onair/chuck-and-kelly-40688/governor-does-about-face-on-vets-14115340

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/politics/spin-cycle/agreement-reached-on-veteran-pension-benefit-bill-1.11112621

IAVA Press Release 

APRIL 29, 2014...Indefatigable Assemblywoman Paulin and Others Marshalling the Troops...her legislative commitment to this bipartisan cause matched only by her friend Senator Larkin

Learning from the Double Veto: Important and Achieveable Military Buyback Reform in NY

After the disappointing November 2014 override-proof veto of  The Veterans' Equality Act/Veterans' Buyback Bill and again after the equally disappointing November  2015  override-proof veto for the identical legislation,  smarter proposed reforms to the current buyback program are in order. The most offensive defects of the inadequate Laws of 2000 are cured with a  buyback option for: 

   1. All who served honorably during  a Federal Wartime Era.  :

 Would look like this in the Law of 2000 (Bold is Added Text):

 1.  A member, upon application to such retirement system, may obtain a
    4  total not to exceed three years of service credit for up to three  years
    5  of  military  duty, as defined in section two hundred forty-three of the
    6  military law, if the member was honorably discharged from  the  military
    7  and  all  or  part  of  such  military  service was rendered during the
    8  following periods: (a) commencing  December  seventh,  nineteen  hundred
    9  forty-one   and  terminating  December  thirty-first,  nineteen  hundred
   10  forty-six; (b) commencing June twenty-seventh,  nineteen  hundred  fifty
   11  and  terminating  January  thirty-first, nineteen hundred fifty-five; or
   12  (c) commencing February twenty-eighth, nineteen  hundred  sixty-one  and
   13  terminating May seventh, nineteen hundred seventy-five; or (d) commencing August second, nineteen hundred ninety and terminating upon the cessation of hostilities

and (text to be omitted)


d)  hostilities  participated in by the military forces of the United
   37  States, from the second day of August, nineteen hundred ninety,  to  the
   38  end  of  such hostilities in case of a veteran who served in the theater
   39  of operations including Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar,  the
   40  United  Arab  Emirates,  Oman,  the  Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Oman, the
   41  Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the airspace above these locations. 

Note 1:  As illustrated, this would align the current   Gulf  War  Era with NY's past and present practice on the WW II, Korea, and Vietnam War Eras.

Note 2:  Afghanistan,  Bosnia, Kosovo and Somalia hostilities fall within this current federal wartime period

Note 3: Servicewomen during this federal Gulf War Era   were essentially excluded from the combat zone  or forbidden from certain combat assignments (infantry, armor, etc.). This reform fixes the effect of that discrimination. All combat and assignment restrictions on women will be lifted on January 1, 2016 (here).

 
   2. All who served honorably during  conflicts currently recognized in the Laws of 2000: Lebanon 6/1/83-12/1/87; Grenada10/23/83 -11-21-83; Panama12/20/89-1/31/90 (dates are already in current law).

Would look like this in the Law of 2000:

2.  A member, upon application to such retirement system, may obtain a
   15  total not to exceed three years of service credit for up to three  years
   16  of  military  duty, as defined in section two hundred forty-three of the
   17  military law, if honorably discharged therefrom, if all or part of  such
   18  services  was  rendered  in  during the military conflicts referenced below, as
   19  follows:
   20    (a) hostilities participated in by the military forces of  the  United
   21  States  in Lebanon, from the first day of June, nineteen hundred eighty-
   22  three to the first day of December, nineteen  hundred  eighty-seven,  as
   23  established by receipt of the armed forces expeditionary medal, the navy
   24  expeditionary medal, or the marine corps expeditionary medal;
   25    (b)  hostilities  participated in by the military forces of the United
   26  States in Grenada,  from  the  twenty-third  day  of  October,  nineteen
   27  hundred  eighty-three  to  the  twenty-first  day  of November, nineteen
   28  hundred eighty-three, as established by  receipt  of  the  armed  forces
   29  expeditionary  medal,  the navy expeditionary medal, or the marine corps
   30  expeditionary medal;
   31    (c) hostilities participated in by the military forces of  the  United
   32  States  in  Panama, from the twentieth day of December, nineteen hundred
   33  eighty-nine to the thirty-first day of January, nineteen hundred ninety,
   34  as established by receipt of the armed forces expeditionary  medal,  the
   35  navy expeditionary medal, or the marine corps expeditionary medal; or

Note: Servicewomen at this time were essentially excluded from the combat zone  or forbidden from certain combat assignments (infantry, armor, etc.). This reform fixes the effect of that discrimination. All combat and assignment restrictions on women will be lifted on January 1, 2016 (here).

   3. Veterans whose entire service was outside of these recognized wartime and conflict periods may purchase up to three years  'at full cost'.
  
  Note: The 'full cost' language from the Chapter of Chapter 644 of the Laws of 1998 would apply. This means that there would be no cost to the state or municipality and veterans would pay 100% of the incurred benefit as a purchase price. 


Keeping in mind that we must learn from the level of public and veterans' groups support for the bills (2014 and 2015) as well as the  double override-proof veto (2014 and 2015) from the governor - and the certainty he would continue in this manner - it is obvious that  only smart  reforms to the buyback program are in order.

Thoughts?

Response to Governor Cuomo's Veto

Possible Good News November 11, 2015- Some sort of military service credit expansion is a possibility next year: Not necessarily for all veterans though. See Assemblyman Curran's Announcement and Letter from  the Governor's office here.

I   As was the case following the Governor's November 2014 veto of the Veterans' Equality Act (VEA) , there is again an effort underway to override his veto: Here   It is sponsored by State Assemblyman Brian Curran. State Assemblyman Raymond Walter wrote an excellent editorial condemning the veto and urging override, here.

It is being publicly supported by the  Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA).

This surely is an impossibly  long shot since Governor Cuomo has never had a veto overridden, the primary sponsors of bill are not supporting the override effort, and the Democratic Assembly would never override the Democratic Governor's veto of a bill they did not strongly  support in the budget process in any case.

Although an impossibly long shot, an override  petition with a huge number of names will surely help during negotiations over a re-worked bill. Remember, negotiations are one thing...negotiations within the rumble of friendly artillery are another.

II   More realistically, an effort is underway in Albany to craft a re-calibrated bill for excluded veterans that will be negotiated into the state's budget and therefore not fall victim to a third consecutive Cuomo veto. One would expect the lowest hanging fruit, some excluded wartime veterans, to be part of a re-calibrated bill.


III Below are press releases from both primary sponsors immediately following the second consecutive veto:

     A. . William J. Larkin, Jr.

October 27, 2015

Senator Bill Larkin (R-C, Cornwall-on-Hudson) said today: “I am extremely disappointed with Governor Cuomo’s veto of the Veteran’s Equality Act (S.5937/A.8174-A). Sadly, with this veto, New York has failed to keep its commitment to the men and women of our armed forces. We cannot however become disheartened. Despite the Governor’s veto, I will not stop advocating for the correction of the inequalities created under New York’s current veteran service credit law and will continue to do all I can to ensure that all New York’s veterans receive the benefits they rightfully deserve.”

  

     B. New York State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D-88) vowed on Tuesday to keep fighting for the rights of veterans in New York State on Tuesday upon learning that A.8174A/S.5937, legislation that she authored, was vetoed by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

This legislation would have allowed all honorably discharged veterans who are members of a New York State retirement system to purchase service credit for up to three years of military service performed. Currently, only veterans who served during certain specified periods are eligible and as a result, many veterans are excluded. Women veterans in particular are largely prevented from purchasing pension credit under the current system due to restrictions on combat service. This legislation would have remedied that inequity.
“I am once again deeply disappointed by the Governor’s veto,” Paulin said. “Our continued failure to recognize the service of our veterans remains, and to continue maintaining this myopic position in regards to this bill is troubling to say the least. I would understand this better if we were from the most conservative state in the U.S. but this is New York.
“I will continue fighting for this bill and will introduce it again and again and again, until it is passed. The Governor’s Counsel has committed to discuss the bill in November in preparation for the state budget, and I will advocate for the bill’s full inclusion. I will never give up until New York treats its veterans fairly, rewarding them for their service.”
William Larkin (R-39) sponsored the bill in the Senate.

GOVERNOR REQUESTS VETERANS' EQUALITY ACT AND VETOES IT

Veto. Memo 221. A sad day for equity and honor for NY's excluded combat, wartime, and Cold War veterans. 


1. The Veterans' Equality Act was one of a batch of bills requested by the governor on October 14, 2015.   Some will be signed and some will vetoed. He must sign or veto by midnight  26 OCT 2015 or The Veterans' Equality Act  becomes law automatically. 

Governor Larkin's Facebook page, probably the best source of breaking news on this matter, is here  

Legiscan page for tracking the bill is here.  Senate page for tracking the bill is here.

2. The real fight for all veterans begins now. As a first step, call Governor Cuomo  and ask him to sign the bill: 1-518-474-8390 (then press 3, give your  zip code). Get your friends, family and co-workers to do the same.

We know from Mayor de Blasio's vocal and repeated ideological opposition - not to mention his wacky and transparent   financial exaggerations  - that this remains an uphill fight.

We know an open ended bill adding eligibility (for the first time in NYS history) for peacetime veterans   during this pension-sensitive time makes this a steeply uphill fight.

Even a bill for just the excluded wartime veterans in this climate would not be a slam dunk.



3.  Third step, those with Twitter and Facebook accounts - post a tweet or a status on FB that can be easily shared to spread the word.

4.  Reminder: The Governor's deadline for action is midnight October 26, 2015. A failure to act (sign or veto) means the bill becomes law. Much more likely, he will sign or veto it prior to that time/date.

VEA Passes in Assembly (and Senate) - On to the Governor

  

I Situation (2100  HRS, Wednesday 24 June 2015):

2 The Assembly stands for Honor and Equity for all Veterans (S5937/A817a) and overwhelmingly passes the bipartisan Veterans'  Equality Act:

• Jun 24, 2015: returned to senate
• Jun 24, 2015: passed assembly
• Jun 24, 2015: ordered to third reading rules cal.738
• Jun 24, 2015: substituted for a8174a
• Jun 17, 2015: referred to governmental employees
• Jun 17, 2015: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• Jun 17, 2015: PASSED SENATE
• Jun 17, 2015: ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.1754
• Jun 17, 2015: COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES
• Jun 12, 2015: REFERRED TO FINANCE

3. A special thanks to the indefatigable Senator Larkin and Assemblywoman Paulin for leading this issue for years and never giving up. Never.

4. Now the Governor has the chance to also stand for honor and equity for NY's veterans by signing this bill into law.

_______________________________________________________________________________

CALL SPEAKER HEASTIE NOW - BILL PASSED WAYS AND MEANS

VETERANS, TIME TO RETURN TO THE FIGHT !  NOW! BREAKING NEWS BELOW 

1. Situation and Mission (as of 407 hrs, Friday  19 June 2015) 

 A8174-A (matches Senate Bill S5937

• Call and email New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie in Albany at (518) 455 3791, Speaker@assembly.state.ny.us to thank him and to request an Assembly vote!
• Bill is now poised for a full Assembly vote

 S5937 (Funded Senate Bill for All Veterans)

• 06/12/2015 REFERRED TO FINANCE
  06/17/2015 COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES
  06/17/2015 ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.1754
  06/17/2015 PASSED SENATE
  06/17/2015 DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY

  2. This is the closest we have EVER been to equity and honor for all  NY's military veterans: WOW

 MOVE OUT TO THE FIGHT!  NOW

The NY Senate Passes S4124 - Honor and Equity for All Veterans

The Senate unanimously passed S4124.

• May 27, 2015: referred to governmental employees
• May 27, 2015: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• May 27, 2015: PASSED SENATE
• May 27, 2015: ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.999
• May 19, 2015: REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO RULES
• Mar 2, 2015: REFERRED TO FINANCE

Now it is up to the Assembly to pass the same funded bill and show New Yorkers they too stand for equity and honor for all NY's veterans. The legislative session ends June 17, 2015.

Call and email New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie  (718)-654-6539, Speaker@assembly.state.ny.us to bring S4124 to a vote in the Assembly.

Then  call to the Governor's office at (518) 474-8390. Call between M-F, 9:00 - 5:00 pm. Select button "3" to speak to a real person. Tell him to support S4124 by pushing the Assembly and then signing the bill into law.

June 5, 2015 Albany Times Union Article on the Senate Bill is here.


Talking Points:

This military service credit buyback bill amends current statutes and permits state employee  combat veterans of wars that are not currently covered (including Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan), wartime veterans of the only wartime time period not yet fully covered (Gulf War Era: AUG 2 1990 thru Present), and  the excluded post-1975 Cold War veterans to buy back up to three years of their active and honorable service.

Remind Governor Cuomo  of his spokesman's words “There is a difference between creating a new benefit and ensuring fairness for workers,” said Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi.".

Beyond the arbitrary and outdated nature of current law, current law also blatantly and shamefully discriminates against women. Because women were officially and legally banned from combat units, the combat zone, and actual combat  during most of our past conflicts, many women veterans are now ineligible for military service credit.

All military veterans working for the federal government are eligible to 'buy back' their honorable military years - regardless of specific date, location, conflicts, theater of war, etc. This bill properly aligns New York State with the commonsense federal practice.

Note: The Assembly's unfunded  A4313A (Veterans' Equality Act) is essentially identical in language to S4124. Since Governor Cuomo vetoed last year's bill for veterans' equity specifically because it was unfunded (or at least that is what his official statement stated), the Assembly to demonstrate real  support our veterans by voting  yes on S4124 and thus sending the Governor a funded bill for his signature.

June 8 Update: Several veterans (including me) who have written to Speaker Heastie received email and hard-copy mailings from his office urging the Senate to vote for the unfunded A4313A. In the first case, the Speaker's Assembly itself has not even voted on the unfunded A4313A. In the second case the unfunded A4313A is the exact opposite of what the Governor claimed he wanted: A funded bill for military service credit. Finally, this may be posturing prior to some sort of a compromise funded bill for something less than all veterans but more than our current situation (i.e. Afghanistan veterans or wartime veterans or veterans serving during all recognized conflicts).

Here is the e-version of the letter:

June 08, 2015

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Dear Friend, Thank you for contacting my office regarding your support for providing credit to members of public retirement systems of the state for military service rendered during certain periods. Assembly Bill 4313-A, which would provide up to three years of service credit to members of public retirement systems of the state for military service rendered during times of peace. Also, this bill removes the requirement that such military service occur during specified periods of hostilities, requires such members have at least five years of credited service, not including military service. This measure is being reviewed in the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. The Senate has not yet introduced the bill this year. You may wish to contact your local Senate representative to make him/her aware of your support for this legislation for our volunteer military and Veterans, increasing their chances of becoming law. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you for contacting me. As always, public participation remains vitally important to the Assembly. Your input is a valuable resource and helps me to better serve our state. Sincerely, Speaker Heastie

(Forgetting the nonsense sentence structure therein, why on earth does he lead with the nonsense  "Peacetime" descriptor if the vast majority of the excluded veterans are wartime veterans? Is he trying to kill his own bill by highlighting that? How long does his Assembly need to spend reviewing the very bill (4313- A) he is urging the Senate to introduce? It has been languishing in the Assembly's Ways and Means for almost a month now. Finally, since they have passed a funded version of 4313-A, namely S4124, why on earth would the Senate now take up 4313-A in any case.)

Mayor de Blasio Fully and Publicly in Support for Pension Buyback Equity for Some Veterans

Background to The Mayor's May 21 2015 Announcement

Readers of this blog recall that Mayor de Blasio expressed strong support for expanding military service credit to all wartime veterans in his letter last year (here). This would update NY's laws by placing the current Wartime Era (Gulf War Era) on equal footing with all past Wartime Eras (WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War) in terms of military service credit buybacks. He nevertheless condemned the 2014 Veterans Equality Act specifically because it included 'peacetime veterans' also.

The Mayor has again gone on the record in support of military service credit for some veterans - in this case he has appeared to narrow (!) his support from wartime veterans  to Afghanistan veterans.

Pending Legislation for Military Service Credit Buyback

Right now the Veterans Equality Act (S4124, A4313A) is again working its way thru Albany. This will apply to all veterans (including all Wartime Era Veterans [Afghanistan veterans are a small subset of this wartime era]). At the same time a weak and inadequate  Afghanistan-only  military service credit bill (S4546, A6453) is also working its way thru Albany (see here for my take on the flim-flam Afghan-only bill).


This is what de Blasio actually said in his press conference today (21 May 2015):

"We are right now asking the state government in Albany to create more fairness in terms of pension opportunities for those who served in Afghanistan. Those who served in previous wars were given opportunities to attach their wartime service to their pensions to give them a better pension situation. That is not yet true for those who served in Afghanistan. We want to fix that, and we certainly don’t think it’s fair that, you know, individuals who were in one conflict are treated differently than those in another. So we want to fix that in Albany." (See here)


This was the 21 May 2015 response of NYC's Veterans' Alliance:

"We learned this morning that Mayor de Blasio will simply announce that he is no longer opposed to the Veterans Equality Act. As you remember, last fall the Veterans Equality Act passed both the NY State Assembly and Senate, and–had it not been vetoed–it would have updated eligibility for NY State and NYC employees to “buy back” up to three years credited toward their pension at a reduced rate based on their years of military service. The existing law grants eligibility only to veterans who served in designated combat areas long prior to 2001, which has resulted in Iraq veterans being eligible, but Afghanistan veterans not being eligible—to name but one disparity. Last fall Mayor de Blasio lobbied Governor Cuomo to veto this broadly-supported and long-overdue bill because he thought it would cost too much.

The Mayor was wrong last fall—and it is important that he make right on his deplorable action against veterans in civil service." (See here)

My Comments:

1. I have a sneaking suspicion that the veterans alliance might be misinterpreting his words...they may not even know there is a half-baked veterans' measure (AKA 'Afghanistan-Only') being brewed up there in Albany.

Call the Mayor (contact info is here) and educate him on the need for the Veterans' Equality Act. The information you need to explain it to him is here.

 2.It becoming clear that the Afghanistan veterans will be given the option of purchasing military service credit in a law this year. All 4 (both Senate and both Assembly) bills agree on that AND Mayor de Blasio would never go out on a limb unless he knew it was a done deal. You will note his talking points were available the night before so this was a very carefully planned announcement within the context of a very carefully planned Memorial Day announcement.

The only question is what other groups of veterans (if any) will be included in the bill. No veteran would ever begrudge the Afghanistan combat veterans' delayed journey from excluded to included in regards to military service credit.

One source that I consider reliable tells me the legislators are working to find a law that would be acceptable to both the Senate and House. This may or may not mean other groups will move from excluded veteran to included veteran status in the normal horse-trading and compromising that is Albany.

Decisions on this must be made up in Albany within the next two weeks.

3.An obvious compromise between the Republican - ruled Senate's "All Veterans/Veterans Equality Act " and the Democrat-ruled Assembly's "Afghanistan Only" bills is a "Gulf War Era Bill".
     This compromise bill would include all veterans who served (including Afghanistan veterans) during the most recent official wartime era (Gulf War; 1990-Present) and at the same time align current practice with New York's tradition  of permitting only wartime veterans to purchase military service credit. This is already the case with the WW II Wartime Era, the Korean Wartime Era, and the Vietnam Wartime Era.
     Since New York grants additional credit on its civil service exams to wartime veterans only, a "Gulf War Era Bill" aligns perfectly with that current New York practice.
     Beyond the attributes of  tradition and logical consistency, a compromise "Wartime Era Bill"  would be cheaper than an "All Veterans Bill" and slightly more expensive than an "Afghanistan Only' bill.

4. Another suggested compromise  between the Republican - ruled Senate's "All Veterans/Veterans Equality Act " and the Democrat-ruled Assembly's "Afghanistan Only" bills is a bill for wartime ("Gulf War Era veterans and all who served honorably during  conflicts currently recognized in the Laws of 2000: Lebanon 6/1/83-12/1/87; Grenada10/23/83 -11-21-83; Panama12/20/89-1/31/90 (dates are already in current law). I wrote about this compromise here
 
5. Another suggested compromise  between the Republican - ruled Senate's "All Veterans/Veterans Equality Act " and the Democrat-ruled Assembly's "Afghanistan Only" bills has been to limit the VEA ('all vets) to all veterans age 50 or greater. Of course this will heavily impact law enforcement folks who may retire prior to this date. This would greatly reduce the cost while at the same time potentially being applicable to 'all vets' who work until age 50 (or more).
 
6. Of course, the Veterans' Equality Act is much preferable to any compromise but given the mayor, governor and Assembly's opposition a bill moving the greatest number of our veterans from the excluded to included ranks is far preferable to another veto for all.