2023-11-13 00:00:00 - Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs
2023-11-13 00:00:00 - Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs
SEN VELIS - CO-CHAIR - Everyone, and welcome to the joint committee on Veterans and Pub Federal Affairs 5th public hearing of the 2023, 2004 legislative session. My name is John Vilas, and I'm the senate chair of this committee. I'm joined by my friend, Representative Jerry Cassie, the House chair of this committee. I wanna thank all those for being present, both in person and virtually for being here today, and we're now calling this hearing to order. As is tradition at hearings of the Veterans and Federal Affairs Committee, I would like to begin by asking those in attendance561 who can and those participating virtually563 to join us in the pledge of allegiance. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER3 - I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of
SPEAKER4 - America and to the republic for which it stands, foundation,
VELIS - Thank you very much. Now going to recognize the senate members of this committee, Vice Chair Rush, Senator Brady, Senator Mark, and Senator Fatman. I now would like to turn it over to my house co-chair, Representative Cassidy, for some opening remarks and to recognize the house committee members who are with us.
REP CASSIDY - COMMITTEE CHAIR - Thank you, mister chairman. On the house side, we have, vice chairman, Pete Capano, Stel Reyes, she's coming back in. Representative Duffy, virtual. Rodney Elliott, representative Elliott, is on virtual. And Kelly Peace, who is next next door, and, she will be back. Thank you. And representative Arriaga, just join us.
VELIS - Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Today's hearing focuses on legislation related to veterans' tax and annuity adjustments. The committee has also added several late files to the agenda that focus on other veteran's benefits as well, including chapter 115, the way that these types of resources are communicated to veterans across the Commonwealth. As we all know, there are a lot of important financial measures that our Commonwealth provides to our veterans and their family members and service members, whether that be property tax exemptions, annuities for disabled veterans, gold star families, or other forms of tax credits.
As we consider ways that our commonwealth can continue to be the best place that a veteran can call home, we must look at these types of measures and how we can improve upon them. So I'm grateful for this hearing and the opportunity to hear testimony from folks on the many thoughtful measures before this committee Today. Just a few housekeeping measures. This is obviously a hybrid hearing with participation both in person and virtually. Testimony will be limited to 3 minutes per person. As is customary, the committee may take elected officials out of turn to testify as they arrive.
If you're today if you're here today in person and have not yet registered to testify, you may do so by filling out the697 sign-in sheet with committee staff at the back of the hearing room. Written testimony will also continue to be accepted by the committee and can be submitted via email. For members of the committee participating virtually, if you have a question, please use the raise hand711 feature on Teams or communicate via the chat to committee staff. I know that several of our legislative colleagues are with us today to testify in legislation. So without further ado, I would now like to recognize Senator Keenan.
SEN KEENAN - SB 2356 - Good afternoon. Thank you, Chief Gaffney, John Dean,734 state senate representative in the public district. I wanna thank you for providing me the opportunity to speak today on, senate 2356 filed by Senator Diaz. Thank you for filing. This is an act increasing annuity for disabled veterans and Gold Star Families. For a long time, we have attempted to increase the annuity that would apply not only to Gold Star families but also to those who have suffered from disability. There were attempts back when we passed the Balor Act back in 2013 and then subsequent, attempts to do it culminating with the filing this year of Senate Visa's bill.
So, again, thank you for doing that. Just coming off of Veterans Day, we certainly reminded again, as we every day of the importance of veterans and all that they've done for this country. As we are out and about on Veterans You do run across, Gold Star Families, families who, have lost loved ones on battlefields all across the the world. While that's general, I would remember as, say, from Memorial Day, again, it was highlighted during Veterans Day that there are families who, deal with the loss of weapons. So what this would do would, increase the current annuity, which was set back in 2006 from $2,000 to $3,000.
818
818 As818 you know, the government has filed the HERO Act and set the amount to 25 Dahl's very honestly do believe the Senate views this approach is is to better approach. We know that there have been increased costs of health care, education, housing, and other necessities, and we must ensure that Gold Star families, receive adequate benefits. So, again, this legislation increases it to $3,000. It's important to note, as I mentioned briefly, that this bill also impacts veterans who845 are determined to be 100 disabled.
It increases848 increases the annuity to $3,000 as well. A similar version of this legislation was reported favorably Last session, and I respect the request of the committee to consider doing so. Again, helping little staff families maintain financial security is the least we can do to support those who pay the ultimate sacrifice to protect us. So I want to thank you, Mr chair, mister chair, and members of the committee, for the opportunity to express support for this bill and ask that it be given a favorable recommendation in anything877 that I can do to help you, Mr chair, and others. I'm happy to do it.
I'd just Just like to take a moment of personal privilege, if I may. A veteran in the city, Quintin A. Larry Norton was a big proponent of this legislation and was behind Early attempts to increase the post-annuity from $2,000 to 2,000 to 25100. Larry passed away, and I know that one thing because he expressed to me that he regretted that he couldn't get this bill through and that we couldn't increase it to what he thought was. You know, that time is truly respective of the service of our cost of and losses. So I think of him today as I testify right here. Again, thank you for your consideration of this bill. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Question from the committee. Yes. Jeffrey, doctor Zaros.
REP XIARHOS - Yes. Thank you, Chad. Not a question. Just a thank you. I am a gold star father, So we lost our son in the war, and we understand what it's all about. For you and that gentleman to Stick to it and do the right thing. We appreciate it very much.
KEENAN - Right. I appreciate that. But all in all, Jeffrence, December here has been in our body, has taken up this cause. I'm happy to follow it, quite frankly. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER7 - But it is tonight. Thank you. Amen. Thank you. Thank you, chair.
VELIS - Then senator, can you just thank you? Since I've been in the Senate, you've been a stalwart ally of anything involving veterans, their causes, and Advocacy. So thank you for your collaboration on this, and we'll certainly be talking about it as we progress. Thank you for everything you do. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER6 - Thank you. Have a great day.
SPEAKER1 - Senator Cronin. And it's a panel.
SEN CRONIN - SB 2489 - Good afternoon, distinguished members of the committee, chair Cassidy and1008 Chair1008 Vilas.1008 Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today1012 on, this bill that we have filed that really, I believe, chores that Massachusetts continues to lead across the country and how we take care of our veterans at the state level. Over the past year, my office has had the privilege to work with, a kind of informal team of teams and a number of stakeholders who are leaders in the commonwealth on veterans issues.
But joined with me today, is Dan Nagin from the Legal Services Center at Harvard Law School, Anna from Veterans Legal Services, and we've also working closely with the Mass Law Reform Institute, to make sure that we're delivering through the 115 program, the best possible safety that we can here at the state level, and also bring chapter 115 into the 21st century.
Also, especially in light of us Moving out of the post 911 perhaps, expanding the definition of a veteran in Massachusetts to reflect the sacrifice of, our guard, our reserve service members,1072 and1072 how they have contributed over the past,1074 20 plus years of war,1076 here in the nation and, and making sure that we're doing everything we can for them here in the Commonwealth. So with that, I'd like to, defer to the rest of my panel to to jump into different components of the bill. We're1089 also joined by a veteran virtually who, will close1093 us off.
ANNA RICHARDSON - VETERANS LEGAL SERVICES - SB 2489 - Thank you, Senator Cronin, and thank you, chair Velas and Chair Cassidy, and members of the committee. My name is Anna Richardson. I am the co-executive director at Veterans Legal Services, and our mission is to help Massachusetts veterans overcome adversity by providing free civil legal aid that honors their service, promotes well-being, and is in response to their distinctive needs. I'm here to testify in support of an act to modernize the chapter 115, Senate Bill 2489.
Massachusetts has a long and proud history of supporting its veterans, and we applaud the governor and Secretary Santiago for their initiative to expand access to benefits and services. We also urge you to do more to modernize the delivery of this critical assistance to veterans and families. Reform is needed to ensure that the administration of Chapter 115 benefits is brought into the 21st century, that benefits are administered consistently across municipalities, and that we bring it up to comparable administrative standards of other assistance programs.
Some of the critical matters this bill would address include standards for timely hearing decisions at all levels. As it1162 currently stands, there are no time standards for issuing decisions when a veteran appeals a denial and reduction of benefits. I want to recognize the recent efforts by the secretary and his team to clear a significant backlog that was not of their making. We still have seen veterans wait too long over a year in at least one of our cases to receive an appeals decision. We also need to reform an archaic and overly punitive overpayment system.
Chapter 115 is the only benefits program in the Commonwealth where a small amount of overpayment can form an insurmountable bar to receive benefits. A few years ago, we represented a veteran who was told he could not receive benefits due to an overpayment as small as $85. Rather than take that payment out of his first check or issue a waiver, the VSO simply denied his application outright. He missed months of payments before he came to us where we helped him reapply and get the overpayment1217 waived. Asset limits, Work incentives and certain payments1219 such as the annuity should be indexed to1221 the cost of living. We urge you to adopt the common practice of the VA, Social Security, and many other Agencies which tie these amounts to the consumer price index, so they're automatically updated each1232 year for Chapter 115 recipients.
Inflation hits hardest on those with the least resources, and the administration of the program should reflect that reality. Benefits should be provided in a manner that reflects modern economic systems and honors the recipient's privacy and dignity. We hear time and time again from our clients how hard it is for them to ask for help. Veterans do come forward and ask for assistance and then are forced to come in person to pick up a paper check. In some communities, we still hear there are reports of being told they need to wait in line on a particular day.
A practice that, our clients report causes them to feel ashamed about asking for assistance. Veterans should also not be required to provide more information than is necessary to verify eligibility. Yeah. Current practice is required to require applicants to sign blanket release forms that authorize their VSO to contact, among others, their gym or health club, their public library, their former spouse, or parents of their child, retail establishments, child care providers, and many others.
Far more sweeping than any other public assistance program. Finally, we could take many steps to reduce Silos across agencies. And Massachusetts has already done this by, trying to reduce the burden on economically disadvantaged individuals by authorizing the development of a common application for means-tested assistance. However, chapter 115 was left out of this effort.
Adding 115 to the common application would ensure ben veterans will benefit from the same no-wrong-door approach in connecting them with benefits and services. We are striving to provide those who have not served access to other programs. This is especially critical when a VSO is not available or the veteran cannot access the VSO1340 due to their work schedule or perhaps because it's a part-time VSO in a smaller community.
These are just some of the critical updates this bill would take to make this vital safety net resource more available to veterans and their families. We urge you to support this legislation because every veteran, regardless of their ZIP code, deserves to receive the same access to benefits and services and to have those benefits and services provided in a way that honors their service, their dignity, and their humanity. Thank you.
DANIEL NAGIN - VETERANS LEGAL SERVICES - SB 2489 - Thank you. Good afternoon, and, to the chairs and to the committee, and thank you so much for this opportunity to talk to you about immediate reforms in the Chapter 115 program. My name is Daniel Nagin. As the senator indicated, I direct the Veterans Legal Clinic at the WilmerHale Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School. We provide Free legal assistance to low-income veterans from across the Commonwealth in a host of civil practice areas, and we have over a decade of experience advocating for veterans, in the Chapter 115 programs who encounter barriers and gaps to getting the support they desperately need.
I want to acknowledge at this point, a veteran that we've been very to work with, who I believe is on our Zoom, Mr Michael Migna. Mr Migna will talk, in a little bit more detail about some of the experiences that veterans can have I'm going to focus on a couple of key points about the overall structure of the program. In doing so, I want to emphasize that a lot of people in the Commonwealth are concerned about veterans and are trying to do the right thing. VSOs, EOBs, the advocacy community, the state house. I think the tools are not quite there yet to get it right and to reach all the veterans who need help and survivors' independence.
So that's what this legislation is about bringing it into the 21st century, so we all have the right tools. So, my colleague, from Veterans Legal Services mentioned a couple of things about online eligibility, being able to, make the program much more accessible by not having as many hurdles around documentation and needless releases of information. I want to emphasize one point that my colleague mentioned because it's worth, underscoring. The common application. How is it and why is it that the one community excluded from the common application could possibly be veterans? How could that be? That needs to be in our bill address that.
That needs to be rectified as soon as possible. The second point I want to emphasize, deals with expanding access, for veterans and dependents who are actually in, sometimes, the greatest distress and most need help. So as noted by the senator, the bill revises the ability to ensure that disabled reservists and National Guard members can receive the benefits they deserve. As the committee well knows, The garden reserves or an inordinate brunt of the recent conflicts, and we need to make sure that we're taking care, of our, garden reserve in the Commonwealth.
The other thing is there's been excellent1509 legislative progress, as you know, and no doubt have supported in ensuring that veterans who may have an other than honorable discharge because of discrimination against people who are LGBTQ plus, but that the Commonwealth needs to take the lead there and ensure that those veterans are given access to after 115 benefits. But that's a beginning point.
It can't be the ending point. There are many, many1530 more veterans who may have a less than fully honorable discharge because of combat stress, traumatic brain injury, or military sexual trauma, and we need to expand the definition of a veteran to ensure that we're reaching all of those veterans who have higher rates of homelessness, higher rates of unemployment, and1546 overall higher rates of distress. Last, I wanna say that all of these goals are only gonna be achievable if we marry them with an effort, and part of the legislation proposes this to improve communication and outreach to potentially eligible veterans and their families.
There's a giant gap, the so-called chapter 115 in between the number of, base staters who could and need help And we're actually getting out. We need to close that gap through affirmative duties on the part of EOBs and VSOs to do outreach and communication. Many are already doing it, but it needs the legislature's, firm momentum and support in order to ensure that it achieves its ends. I'm very grateful for the committee's time and concern about this important issue. If I would, I'd like to introduce, mister Michael Mimnock, who's online. Thank you. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER11 - Anybody hear me?
SPEAKER1 - We can. Thank you.
SPEAKER11 - Oh, good. Thank you. The statehouse, can you hear me?
MICHAEL MIMNAUGH - VSO - SB 2489 - Okay. My name is Michael Mimna. I was, out at the statehouse over a year ago when I was made homeless by my VSO along with other circumstances and I couldn't find anybody who knew that the young lady sitting at the table that Daniel's at was somebody I could go talk to. I have an advocate that worked for me, and we found Daniel and his students. At the Harvard School of Law, my VSO was making me jump through hoops. After I jumped through them all and didn't run away like many veterans that I know had left because it was too much for them to handle the stress and the bureaucracy.
After I did that, he made me jump through more hoops, and that continued until I finally brought it to Daniel. The same thing was Put on Daniel and his team. The VSO would not comply with the Boston Veterans Office to, pay the veteran and the other veterans who were shut off illegally. It's a shame that a VSO can do that, and there's nobody in the statehouse that checks on them, which is why I went to the statehouse, and nobody could help me. They said I had to be a teacher's union or a city employee's union or a police or a fireman, that a single individual did not bring up a state request, to look into a town.
In 2018, our numbers were at half a 1000000, and a new VSO and a new town manager were under 50,000 and going down to 20 veterans. So that's a sin that a VSO can do that. I've been taken care of by Daniel and his team, and, I look forward to working with other veterans and helping them in their assistance of chapter 115, I thank you all for everything that you do to help everybody in the Commonwealth, but our veterans, especially. I was shut off on Veterans Day in 2021. So it's a little shameful that a VSO who was a veteran and still is in a position along with the Friends in the town hall that I was living in that they are trying to reduce, chapter 115 to A 0, and that's, a bloody shame. I thank you for your time, everyone.
VELIS - Thank you, sir, and very sorry that was your experience with with your VSL. Questions from the committee. So I'm just going to say this. First, thank you for taking the time, however long ago that was, to meet with me via Zoom. Senator Cronin, thank you for your service, obviously. Thank you for your leadership on this. I think we talked about this at the meeting. There's nothing that drives me crazier than when a constituent reaches out to my office, and I know this has happened with several colleagues.
You say, have you spoken to your VSO? It's, what's that? I don't know what that is. So to your point about the public awareness piece of this, that drives me absolutely crazy. I think another thing that's worth repeating too. I've said this multiple times, and I'm going to continue to say it. Every VSO is not created equally. Right? There are many that go above and beyond and some that don't. I think that's just the reality of the world in any profession. It's not a it's not a slight against anybody.
You raised a lot of good points. The common application, why was this left out of it, the robust nature of what's needed in terms of documents, the 85 or whatever dollar amount you said was, that's that's just that's incredibly problematic to me. I think there is wide agreement that 115 really needs to be looked at. I know the governor has indicated in the Heroes this and other things. I can assure you this committee will do that due diligence with this. So thank you for bringing this forward. Thank you for your testimony today, and I look forward to continuing this dialogue with you.1896 Thank you. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
Rep Hawkins.
REP HAWKINS - HB 3506 - Thank you for taking me out of order and thank you to the staff for doing it at the last minute. Of course, I did not ask before the deadline, I was late, but I appreciate your indulgence. This is, my bill, HB 3506, which is also about chapter 115, but from a slightly different, viewpoint. I'm on a panel with Michael Proyatt and Paul Dumichel. Michael is a veteran who lives in Attleboro Housing1953 and Paul is the director of Attleboro Housing.1955 They brought this to me last year. I would have to take this to be an oversight, the chapter 115 would be counted as income.
Thus raising the rent in public housing. There's a whole list of exclusions and I think it's just an oversight because not every veteran gets Chapter 150 in it. They Didn't think of it when they when wrote the rules on this. I'm going to let them speak more because they can speak more as to how it impacts them, but it seems the guy who is receiving chapter 115 is the person who needs it the most, and it should not, it should not raise their rent. It's like they're getting money on one hand and giving it back on the other. For the veterans involved, there should be, I believe and I'm not looking at your roster here. There should be Somebody from the the VSO from Attleboro, Ben Quayle testifying about how it affects his end.
It makes a sort of a seesaw. When one goes up, the other goes down. Also Bill Laber and Mike Raymond from the Veterans Organization. But in my panel and I'll defer my time to, I'm going to slide it over next to Mike who is the veteran who brought this to my attention. We filed this last year, but it was a late file, so I didn't have any expectations. But it seems like kind of a no-brainer that we could get through this time. So I appreciate your, indulgence. Here's here's Michael. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER13 - It's done. Sorry.
SPEAKER14 - Yeah.
MICHAEL FREUER - ADMIRAL VETERANS SERVICES DEPARTMENT - HB 3506 - Thank you for having me. My name is Michael Freuer. I am a Vietnam-era US Navy veteran. I first found out about the Admiral Veterans Services Department after being referred to them by the Reverend Lawson Senior Center here in Attleboro. I was told that they could help me cover the cost of a better medical insurance plan.
Due to my medical needs after open heart surgery, co-pays, and other expenses under the plan I had were making it difficult for me financially. After assisting me with finding coverage, they would eliminate these co-pays and other medically related expenses that were straining my ability to cover my month-to-month necessities. I was directed to Contact the Attleboro Veterans Services department in city hall to help me with the cost of this new medical insurance. It was the lifeline I needed.
Veteran services explained the program to me and provided me a letter stating that this benefit is considered nonreportable income and breaking down the amount of my fit to cover the cost of my medical insurance in an amount intended to keep veterans above the poverty2121 level, which They referred to as ordinary expenses. I have lived in public housing for approximately 14 years, and I am thankful for every day of it. Without them, I don't know where I would live because I would not be able to afford the rent and utilities Being asked for an apartment today in Massachusetts. Every year I submit my current income on paperwork during the annual rent determination period for the upcoming year.
A couple of years ago, I noticed a significant increase in my rent far exceeding the stated 30% of my Social Security retirement income. When I questioned this, I was told that the adult veteran service benefit I was receiving is now being included when Calculating my new rent. This was going to have a significant impact on my financial resources. So I questioned it with the housing authority because I don't understand how the state of Massachusetts provides a nonreportable benefit To its veterans.
Excuse me. So they may pay for adequate medical insurance benefits Along with an amount that would ease someone from falling below the poverty level, only to have a different State of Massachusetts agency take away a portion of that benefit to go towards state-subsidized housing. I mean, doesn't that go against the intended purpose of the benefit veterans benefit program? I am here today because I have had several major operations and continue to be seen by several different doctors.
I do not have the ability to work because of my age and medical issues. Loss of this income provided by the State agency for veterans only to have a state agency for housing, take a portion of it, would have a significant impact on my quality of life. And again, make it more difficult to keep up with today's high cost of gas and personal leads. In closing, I would just like to read 1 sentence From the letter of the city of Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services, Giddensby, explaining the breakdown of my benefits. This receipt of veteran services benefits under chapter 115 constitutes a public assistance grant and may be excluded from countable income for the purposes of other public assistance programs Subject to conflicting regulatory guidelines. Paul Duhmichel, the director of the Albero Housing association made an important observation2307 and suggestion this morning to me, which I completely2311 agree with.
All that needs to be done to rectify this situation is to change the word may to will. And all of this would take care of itself. Oh, it's excuse me again. Take care of itself. I thank you for your time, and I hope you will take this into consideration. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Sir, thank you very much.
HAWKINS - Thank you, Michael. Next on the panel in the room next to us here on a different computer is Paul DeMouchelle. I would say that this takes a village. Paul and Michael, and Ben, who's the VSO in Attleboro, worked together with me to get this legislation and so I'm just the boy I'm just2357 their voice on this, but, Paul is in the other room he'll click on.
PAUL DUMOUCHEL - CONCERNED CITIZEN - HB 3506 -Thank you very much, Representative Hawkins. Thank you, Senator Vilas and Representative Cassidy. It's a pleasure to be here today. Over a year ago when, when Michael Proy brought this to my attention, I totally agreed with him that, this income, which is provided to veterans from the VSO, should not be counted as income. I would have to agree that it that it wasn't an oversight.
I wanted just to, you know, come at this from a housing agency point of view. We have a number of veterans in our housing portfolio, and, I don't have to tell, you know, anybody on this panel, you know, the challenges that everybody faces nowadays with, with the price of food and gas and rent and so forth. You know, public housing is an opportunity to, you know, live in a very affordable apartment.
You know, paying roughly 30% of your income to rent, you know, you know, to the housing authority. Michael brought it to my attention that, it's an inherent, unfairness, You know, which I, you know, I tended to agree with. I referred him to representative Hawkins, and, we've sort of worked together to advance this. I just want to thank the panel for the opportunity to appear and to wholeheartedly endorse. You know, this portion of the bill. I also want to thank Mike Proya, for for his service to our country.
VELIS - Appreciate you, sir. Thank you very much. Questions from the committee? Again, just I'll repeat what I said earlier. Chapter 115 is something that we are taking a very hard look at this session, so thank you for bringing this forward. Apologize that you had to go through some of what you had to go through, and, look forward to continuing this dialogue. Thank you very much.
HAWKINS - So so Bill Labeau is not in my panel, but he just texted me. He is online ready to testify on the same bill. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Please This is
SPEAKER12 - an adjutant. You may know him from the state house.
SPEAKER1 - Please, by all means. Thank you.
BILL LEBEAU - VFW -HB 3506 - Good afternoon, Senator Villas. Representative Cassidy, thank you for hearing me. I am going to be on a panel with the VFW shortly but on this bill, when it first got brought to our attention last year, the VFW was so behind this that I actually signed my name to it with Representative Hawkins. We really feel strongly this is something that has to be, addressed. Given the environment right now with the limited housing that we have in the State. We really feel that this is something the legislature should really fix. So thank you for your time on this.
VELIS - Thank you, Mr. Well, obviously, the voice of the VFW is something that this committee does not take lightly. So thank you for your willingness to come forward today. Questions? Committee? Alrighty. Next up, we have Chrissy Lynch at House 4021. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER17 - Good afternoon.
SPEAKER1 - Good afternoon.
CHRISTY LYNCH - AFL-CIO - HB 4021 - Dear Chair Veils, Chair Cassidy, and members of the committee thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your service. I was just reading about you this morning, chair Vilas. My name is Christy Lynch. I'm the president of the Massachusetts AFL CIO, where we represent over 800 local unions across the state from every sector.
Among those member among those members are thousands of veterans and thousands of family members of those serving in the military. We wanna register our strong support2596 for HB 4021, an act requiring employers to post information on veterans' benefits and services. This is a common-sense bill that would simply require standardized workplace postings that include basic information about veteran services, rights, benefits, and programs, and how veterans can seek resources and get help right away.
Veterans deserve both well-rounded and accessible resources as well as jobs that provide family-sustaining wages, secure benefits, and a dignified retirement. They need a pathway to success that will help them leverage the skills they gained in the armed forces. We are so proud of the programs Our unions run to connect veterans to life-changing careers in the union movement, like the Helmets to Hard Hats program, which eases the passage back to civilian life.
For those veterans who have come home and are already working, we must make it as easy as possible for them to access vital information about the really critical resources available to them as veterans. This is a service we can provide to veterans and workers at a very minimal cost to employers in the Commonwealth. Our veterans deserve to come home to the promise of a meaningful career and economic opportunity.
We applaud the United Steel Workers Union for being a national leader on this issue, pushing this bill in every state, and getting some real momentum. We'd like to see Massachusetts be a leader in this like we are and so many other things to protect workers and veterans. So I hope you will please report this bill out of your committee favorably and swiftly, And thank you once again for your public service.
VELIS - Thank you. Questions? I would just say I would just say thank you. You mentioned I was gonna say this, the helmets, the hard hats, and then just the number of times that I hear about, You know, things being posted in the mental health and substance abuse space, which obviously impacts, impacts everyone, but certainly has a pronounced impact on our veteran population. I always see2712 unions kinda really reaching out and leading on that. So thank you, rep. Thank you for bringing this forward. I think I already yeah. Please.
CASSIDY - Just one thing. I just want to thank, the representative, for this. Madam President, thank you for being here, testifying. This is basically a no-brainer to me. This should be put up in, all businesses throughout, all the state. How many, other states have this? Do you know? Roughly? SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER17 - I've been looking
SPEAKER18 - guys. Someone that's gonna testify to that.
SPEAKER5 - Oh, okay.
SPEAKER3 - It's really
SPEAKER18 - international. There's there's a national campaign
SPEAKER5 - Right. Right.
SPEAKER19 - Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
LYNCH - We were very surprised to learn it wasn't already the law. You know?
CASSIDY - you can tell that by the, co-sign, on the house building. You know, reverend McGonigal and his awful lot of very good, good, solid people on onboard. So thank you very much. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER17 - Thank you.
SPEAKER1 - I don't not to put you on the spot, but you,
SPEAKER6 - sir, you
SPEAKER1 - just referenced New York. Do we know when New York did this?
SPEAKER18 - When? Yeah.
SPEAKER1 - Last year. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER17 - Thank you. Thank you very much. Alright.
SPEAKER1 - Of course. Thank you.
Thanks, rep. Thanks, rep. You you wanna come forward, please?
REP CAPANO - Yes. I want to thank, Chris and Blanchard for2789 their testimony here. I just want to advocate for the bill. I think it's, like Like chair Cassidy said, it's a no-brainer. As we work to do more for our veterans and improve for services, there are a lot of services that are2803 available that people don't even know about so this would really help that out. There are some advocates here. I2809 want to thank the Steel Workers union and, some BSOs that do a great job from Lynn and Watertown that are also here in support of the bill and hoping for a favorable outcome. Thank you. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thanks Thanks2820 for bringing this forward.
SPEAKER7 - Chair, if I may. Please.
SPEAKER1 - Rep, I think we have 1 question for you. Or a question, chief. If you don't mind.
XIARHOS - Yes. Thank you. Thank you, chair. Rep, this is a no-brainer. Chair Cassidy is right. I was here when some of the union members came and visited my office. It's such a no-brainer. It should happen. Do you know any reason why it wouldn't?
CAPANO - Well, I think if I don't want to think about that. I try to be I'm like a glass-full kind of person. Yes. I kind of think that with the support of the committee and, strong advocates here that we may have a good chance to get this through. That's, you know, SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER7 - You know, that's sorta how I look at it. Amen. Thank you, sir. Happy to help.
SPEAKER1 - Thank you very much.
SPEAKER7 - Thank you, chair.
VELIS - Next up, we have the long-time chair of this committee, Senator Rush. Uh-huh. Thank you for your service, and thank you for your testimony here today.
SEN RUSH - SB 2342 - SB 2344 - SB 2347 - Thank you, Mr Chairman. Thank you,2892 Mr chairman, and members of the committee. As a member of the committee, I'm bouncing around from committee to committee today. It's one of those days, as we all know. But I wanted to come in, first and foremost, to thank you. The commitment from this committee2907 to helping our veterans across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts2911 is valuable, and I've seen it firsthand and know that the tradition continues each and every day as you hear testimony and work tirelessly to improve the lives of our veterans and their families.
So I certainly appreciate that I'm here to testify in favor of a few bills today. Again, as a member of the committee, I will advocate on that end, but I feel this is so important. I wanted to2939 testify as I leave here and go to, the committee on education after this. But I'm here in favor of, senate bill 2342, an act relative to tax credits for homeless veterans' housing, which would direct the Department of Housing to develop a qualified allocation plan and to set aside no less than 10% of its allocated tax credits to support projects to provide permanent housing for formerly homeless veterans. Senate Bill 2344, an act relative to veterans annuities for surviving spouses, would update Chapter2977 115 benefit, benefits language to include the phrase surviving spouses in receipt of dependent indemnity compensation is awarded by Veterans Administration.
lastly, Senate Bill 2347, an act relative to dependent eligibility for the 115 benefits. This would expand the definition of a dependent of a veteran eligible to receive Chapter One benefits to include those dependents who meet all eligibility requirements3009 to receive benefits,3011 also being supported by the MVSOA.
Again, I'm here today, knowing the great work that gets done here by you, mister chairman, and you, Mr chairman, and the members of the committee each and every day. You know, I know the momentum is strong as we advocate on behalf of our 380,000 veterans and their families, our Gold Star families. I just want to say thank you for the outstanding job that this committee does under your leadership and the members of this team, so thank you.
VELIS - Mr Chairman, thank you for your service, for your current service as the vice chair, and for your long-time service as the chair. So much of this work that we've done in the Commonwealth has been under your purview, with these issues. You're two for all of us. Questions, members of the committee? Thank you very much.
RUSH - I certainly appreciate it. Again, I'm remiss that I'm not joining you, but I need to go next door to the education committee. Thank you so much, Mr. Hammond. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Have a good day.
Alrighty. Neil Crowley, Joseph Endicott, Paul Morenci, and Tracy Gagliardi. House Bill 40/20
Oh, thank you.
SPEAKER7 - Thank you.
PAUL MORENCI - UNITED STEELWORKERS - HB 4021 - Good afternoon. Thank you, chairman and the committee, for hearing me. My name is Paul Morenci. I'm a lifelong resident of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with the exception of the time I spent in the service. I'm a member of the United Steelworkers and a 12-year veteran of the United States Army, Army Reserve. To be able to represent the 2 things I love, my union and my brothers3129 and sisters who wore the uniform is an3131 honor. When most people think of veterans, the first thing that comes to mind is the mentally and physically disabled veterans, which is a good thing.
They need the most help and assistance to get their lives back together and on track, and they have earned our undying gratitude. But there are many veterans who made it through the service unscathed but through the grace of god. Let me talk about those veterans for a moment. When you are discharged from the military service, whether it be from a combat deployment, an overseas posting, or a state-sized posting, You're dealing with a large amount of paperwork.
You're signing off on pay records, medical records, and turning all of your gear in, and organizing your travel home. Most of the time, these men and women are in their early to mid-twenties and just thinking about seeing their significant other, their family, and thinking about going to the local establishment having a beer with their friends, and getting on with their lives. In that moment, you're in peak physical shape and feeling invincible, so you're half listening as they go Over the benefits that you've earned. Fast forward a few years, now you have a spouse and a child on the way, and you decide you wanna better yourself through education, and buy a home, but you can't remember where or how to access the benefits that you've earned. This is a problem.
The benefits the veteran earns are paid for by the taxpayer, and the programs are run by the government. The benefits are out there but get unused due to veterans not knowing how to get added. These benefits include, but are not limited to, pensions, education services, insurance programs, first-time homebuyer loans, employment help, etcetera.
Now the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is great in that each city and town has a Veterans Affairs advocate in it, but many veterans are also unaware of that. Bill her HB 4021, if passed, would require workplaces to have a posting with a list of verified phone numbers and websites that would allow veterans or their family members to get this information. As we know, we're just like anything else in This world, there are many unscrupulous websites and people out there looking to take advantage of veterans and their families.
So having these verified listings would be a big help in getting the veterans the benefits they earned and the help they need. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for allowing me to speak, and please support bill HB 4021 and the other great veterans bills that have been placed before you today. Thank you. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you.
TRACY GAGLIARDI - UNITED STEEL WORKER - HB 4021 - Good afternoon. I'd like to thank the chair and the committee for hearing us today on this bill. My name is Tracy Gagliardi. I'm here to represent the United Steel Workers Union, and I'm also here as tech sergeant Gagliardi from the US Air Force, first 102nd Security Forces Squadron down in Cape Cod.
I'm currently on state-activated duty, on a mission down there down the Cape. I come from a military family. My dad was a marine. My brother, Ami, and my son now is a marine. Currently, serving in the Air Force. When this bill was presented. It really hit home for me. My dad had struggled with his finances, PTSD from Vietnam, and health over the years before he passed in 2019. He was old school. No idea who to talk to, what numbers to call, and what he was even entitled to. This bill would certainly help his generation to find all the information that they need.
My dad, being older generation, had no idea what his benefits were or what he was entitled to. When he passed, my mom had no idea what she was entitled to. To me, that isn't fair. A man who served 17 years in the military deserves to know what his benefits are. Having this posting makes it easier for our service past, present, and future.
Let's be honest. We're in an era now where conflict is inevitable. We are sending our brothers and sisters, sons, and daughters to fight for our country. Let's make it easy for them to trans transition back into civilian life. Make it easy for them to get the benefits they're entitled to and what they fought for. Coming home from deployment or war isn't an easy transition for most.
Seeing things that the average person doesn't see or do things the average person doesn't do makes it a hard transition back into the civilian lifestyle. When our troops raise their right hand and take that oath of enlistment, right there, they lose their freedom, whether it be 4 years, 6 years, or even 30.
They sacrificed their entire life, family, holidays, birthdays, graduations, weddings, births, the list goes on. They sacrificed everything to protect this country. The least we can do is put a posting up so they can easily access the help that they need. Thank you, and I appreciate you guys hearing us SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
3403 SPEAKER33403 -3403 on3403 this. Thank you.
JOE ENDICOTT - USW - HB 4021 - Hello. I'd like to thank, chair Cassidy,3411 chair Villas, and the rest of the committee for hearing us today and ask for a favorable report out of the committee on HB 4021. My name is Joe Endicott, and I'm a member of the USW 1201204 and a gas worker at National Grid. I've worked at National Grid for 16 years, and I've been a union official for the past 10 of them. I would like to talk about this bill today and ask for your support, on what we feel is very important. This bill would require employees of 50 or more to post basic, information in their workplace regarding services that veterans have earned and, are designed to help them and their families.
You can see the example from New York that, is handed out, and it's just basic information. In my role as a union official, I can't tell you how important it is to have access to information but to get our members the right information. This posting would do just that for our veterans in the workplace. It would, be basic information such as phone numbers and websites that provide crucial services and benefits that are very much needed.
A lot of this information people are not aware of either, and it is very hard to track down on your own. Having a standardized informational posting is an easy way to provide vets with information and access to these benefits that they have I can hope you support this bill and our veterans as they have supported all of us. Thank you. Thank you.
NEILY CROWLEY - USW - HB 4021 - Good afternoon. My name is Neil Crowley with the United Steelworkers Local 12012. Thank you to the chair and committee for the opportunity to speak in support of Bill 4021. This bill could be so important to our brothers and sisters who have served in the military and are now back in
I've been a union official at my job for the past 10 years. Part of my job is to educate members about the benefits available to them. I can tell you from experience when there is3546 an official poster on the wall at work, something I can bring someone to and know that the information I am giving them is legit. It's been vetted. It makes a big difference.
There needs to be a standardized workplace posting that can help veterans and their families easily access the benefits they have earned and deserve. There are bulletin boards at work already. These benefits and services already exist. This would be incredibly helpful to veterans like Paul and Tracy and other brothers and sisters who are returning to the workforce. We need legislators to keep pushing this, please, and get it done. It's a win for everyone involved. Thank you, and please report on this favorably. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you very much. Questions from the committee? Please, Robert Lawrence.
XIARHOS - Thank you, chairman. Powerful testimony. This should be done. It should have been done years ago. It's shocking that it's not. So I just thank you. My dad is, in was military. My grandfather, my son, tech sergeant, what a family. You said your father's a marine. Your son is a marine. You are a tech sergeant. In the 102nd. Well, I represent Cape Cod and Joint Base Cape Cod. Yes. I was. Yes. So, master sergeant Giammarco's retirement. So it's personal to me and all of us, and I just really wanted to let you know that, and, and thank you for your service. It's time that we Show it. This needs to pass, and its chair, I know both of us3651 to agree, and this is one that seems to be Easy. Thank you. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER3 - Thank you. Thank you.
CASSDY - Thank thank you. I just want to thank you very much for this, Edward. Just looking through this, we3663 went through the key and QR code. Just the just the information we3667 just had. That's what we should do here in 2ยข. Awesome. So thank you. - Paul, I think you said that it is about the I can really identify with the, I don't want to mess up how you said it, but a lot of in my opinion, one of the biggest problems with this as I vividly recall coming home from deployment.
You know, you're given this information, you know, at a point time when you're just your mind is elsewhere. It's Right. I want to go see my family. I want to go for a ride in my car, whatever it may be, the comforts of life. I just remember, you know, that stuff just going, like. Yes, sir. Yes, and not anything. No. I don't care what3711 you're saying. I just want to get out of here. So thank you for bringing that up, and I share my colleague's sentiment that I don't like it when a sister state does something before us in this space. So right. I appreciate you, bringing this forward. Thank you. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Can we have Carrie Eldridge virtually?
CARY ELDRIDGE - USW - HB 4021 - Afternoon Chair and committee. How are you? My name is Carey Aldridge. I am with United Steelworkers. I'm an international staff rep, and before you, you've heard some testimony. Most of that testimony that you've heard is what I was gonna say.
So from that, instead, I would like to give you an example. Yes. Here in New York, this was this was passed a year ago. Part of the founding reason, if I may give you an example of how this benefits, one of my coworkers' husband was a Vietnam-era veteran, ended up taking ill and passed away early in life, which left her, in in financial hardship.
We had sat down and talked. Unbeknownst to her, this young lady, did she know that through her husband's service, she was, who he had earned and was entitled to a level of benefits? It may have taken some time, but through through this posting and research, she was able to, receive a monthly stipend and health care. Without this posting, she would have not known that she woulda had that and she woulda, struggled through a better part of her life.
Now she's in a good place her because of her husband's service. Now I could go on and give you examples like that, over and over. For myself, a proud Air Force veteran, the son of an army veteran in the Vietnam War, and, grandson. Both my granddads were in 2. As many of us know we come from a military-oriented family, and not having the proper information can lead to many, roadblocks in in our lives.
I can speak for my own father. He had a tremendously difficult time when he came home from Vietnam, which impacted not just him, but it impacted our home life as well. I think that if at the time, they would've3867 had a posting like this that would've shown where an3871 individual could've got the proper resources and assistance, Who knows how other individuals, including my own life, would have been changed?3881
So I just and to earlier, that you had mentioned other states this has passed. I'd like to go to that. I know it's New York, Minnesota, Maine, Rhode Island, Texas, and Michigan, and it has been introduced in other states such as Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia, and New Hampshire. So I just wanted to share that information with you. Thank you.
VELIS - Sir, you just mentioned you're from New York. Right?
ELDRIDGE - I am, sir. But I am and I apologize. I am the United Steelworkers, District 4's, veterans coordinator. So I serviced all of New England, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware as a coordinator. Yes, sir.
VELIS - No. I just wanted to apologize because I took a swipe at New York. So no disrespect SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER25 - Swipe away. It's okay.
VELIS - I appreciate your testimony today, and needless to say, it's not This is, this is a really good bill. So, again, rep and everybody that's been here today testifying on it, and appreciate you coming forward to testify today. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER25 - Thank you.
SPEAKER1 - Oh, sorry. Questions? Please. Seeing none, you have a blessed day. Thank you.
SPEAKER3 - You as well.
VELIS - Alright. I should've said this at the beginning. There's gonna be names that come forward, and I've Done it a few times where I mess up the last name. So John Bonapane? Bonapane. Okay. Welcome. The floor is yours.
JOHN BONAPANE - USW - HB 4021 - Good afternoon. I don't think I can add a lot more than what's already been said, I can kind of tell you about the steelwork as in what I do. I'm what's called the subdistrict director, so I'm responsible for thousands of employees in all different types of industries. The steelworkers represent people in state and municipal governments, manufacturing, utilities, and bus drivers.
I mean, you name it. We have people that we represent in all different types of jobs. I can relay one personal story, but I can tell you that as part of my job as subdistrict director, I travel around the state and go to different local union meetings. Since I started this job, two things surprised me when I talked about this bill. One is when I ask people who are veterans in the room to raise their hands. I'm always surprised about how many people actually are veterans.
That surprised me personally. You may have the statistics, but I yeah. It's something I really didn't follow, to be honest. The second thing that surprised me When I brought this bill up at different unity meetings was the real energetic support from people who aren't veterans. People really wanna do things to help their veterans, and it's something that I'm proud of. Our brothers and sisters throughout this state really want to see this bill passed, and that's what I want to relay to you. I heard all the support, and that's great.
I know I'm kind of preaching to the choir here, but I wanted to relay that to you. One personal story that I actually just thought of as Tracy told4067 the story about her father. Before I took this job, I didn't know each town had a veteran's agent. I didn't know that. I actually represent them now. But when I took the job, I went and talked to my mother about it because my father was a Korean War veteran. He's passed now almost 30 years. I said, you know, you should really reach out to them and talk to them about what's available to you.4091
She did. She found out that there was a break in our real estate taxes. I didn't know that. So when you talk about things like this that makes people aware of what's out there. It's not just about veterans. It's about the families too, and and that's important. So I really wanna thank you for your support on this. I know this is the the everybody said it. A lot of people that I talked to didn't even know this wasn't a law already. I was surprised that it wasn't. So Thank you for all your support. Re really much appreciated. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you for your testimony. Question from members of
SPEAKER18 - the committee. Appreciate Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER1 - Alrighty. We are going now back to s 2489. We have David
David Paul. Alright. We will Come back to you.
Nathan Mowery, Virtual.
SPEAKER14 - Hi. Good afternoon.
NATHANIEL LOWRY - VETERANS LEGAL CLINIC - HB 4021 - Good afternoon. So much opportunity to testify today. My name is Nathan Lowry. I'm a Marine Corps veteran who served in Afghanistan, and I'm a current 3 0 3 student attorney with Harvard Law School's Veteran Legal Clinic. I've had the opportunity and the privilege of working with mister Ryan Constantino, who you'll hear from later today. Brian an army veteran who served in Iraq, endured horrific trauma through intense combat that has forever changed him. He battles with both traumatic brain injury and PTSD from those experiences.
As you know and as you've heard today, veterans like Ryan who served in our nation's wars rely on the Chapter 115 benefits program in times of need. Yeah. As Daniel Meghan noted earlier, there's a labyrinth of statues and regulations that are gated. As a result, This results in the turning away of very deserving applicants, like mister Ryan Cosentino. In addition, in Ryan's case specifically, decisions will take months and even years at a time to issue through various levels of appeal.
Ryan specifically encountered difficulty in applying because of the current definition of a veteran under the Chapter 115 regulations. As you heard earlier. The current Chapter 115 legislation presumptively excludes many of the veterans who receive less than honorable discharges from their final period of service. And that's regardless of any mitigating circumstances. Nationally, research has shown that there's a direct connection between PTSD, TBI as well as an other than honorable discharge and the misconduct that leads to it. Ultimately, Massachusetts veterans like Ryan are those who really need these benefits and are in the most dire circumstances.
At both the federal VA level and in other states, as has been mentioned, veterans like Ryan who suffer from PTSD and TBI are afforded the opportunity to present mitigating evidence regarding both their meritorious circumstances, and their previous service, as well as the combat and violence they faced that ultimately led to misconduct. It's really time for Massachusetts to do the same.
So today's proposed legislation solves many of the problems that Ryan has faced and continues to face in his own quest to acquire benefits and restructures the Chapter 115 appeals process to streamline it for faster decision-making. It also expands the Benefits program to support veterans who've previously been denied benefits because of other than honorable discharges. Ultimately, what it does, ensures that those who served our country in the most dire environments, whether in Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Somalia, or elsewhere are cared for in Massachusetts. Thank you very much for your time. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you very much for your time. Questions from the committee?
Thank you very much for coming forward today.
SPEAKER14 - Thank you.
SPEAKER1 - Alrighty. Next up, we have Ryan Constantino on s 2489. Virtual.
SPEAKER4 - Just lost your connection. They tried to get you back. Why couldn't they get you back? They weren't
SPEAKER1 - Ryan Constantino?
Alright. We will come back.
Alright. Next up, we have Linda Louise Krappf, Virtual?
William LeBeau and Kenneth Walsh from the Massachusetts Veterans of Federal Foreign Wars.
We will go back to folks that weren't here right now. Okay. Morning.
KENNETH WALSH - VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS - SB 2310 - HB 3503 - HB 3506 - SB 2321 - Good morning. Good afternoon. Sam Committee members, you've already heard from I did Keep going. Thank you. It is an honor and a pleasure to be here. My name is Kenneth Walsh. I'm the national aide de camp for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I assist the department commander for the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Massachusetts, Commander James Morrissey.
I am here, on behalf of the Massachusetts Veterans of Foreign Wars to extend our request our support for SB 2310 and HB 3503 as a reasonable and practical process to see how our commonwealth can best institute substantive property tax relief for our veterans consistent with our strong support We're linking that relief directly to the percentage of a service-connected disability.
Massachusetts Veterans of Foreign Wars has been the strongest advocate for our commonwealth for this reform, such as, we call your attention that these bills currently do not have a member of our department as one of the appointments. We therefore call on the petitions of this bill to add the Massachusetts Department of Veterans of Foreign Wars to the commission.
The Match Massachusetts VFW supports any demonstrative efforts to provide financial and tax relief for4494 veterans and supports the many4496 bills taken up today that4498 would increase the annuities for such relief.
To include our strong support for h 3506 and SB 2321, which would exclude health care cost payments to veterans from the gross household income calculations for 1.15 115 payments. The Massachusetts veteran's followers support HB 4021 in requiring employees to post information on veterans' benefits and services that as an excuse me, serve as a very welcome outreach strategy to help veterans.
Furthermore, Massachusetts Veterans of Foreign Wars would like to be on the record of stating that we are in full support of the governor's legislative package and consistent with the governor's proposals, which we believe the administration and the executive office of Veteran Services should closely review any modern modernization of chapter 115, such as such those proposed by 2 SB 2489 and HB 414152 before the general courts take any further action.
Myself, personally, just to let you know, I am retired from the United States Air Force. I'm a lifelong resident of Massachusetts. Happy Happy to see4579 many union members here today. I'm a union4581 steward myself. I would like to say that, personally, I've seen Multitudes of homeless veterans, and former homeless veterans that we've served. It's an honor to serve them when we see and find them, and we would like for you to please, as I've heard today, continue your support for these bills. Thank you. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER16 - Good afternoon, senator Villas. Representative Cassidy. Yep. This is Bill Lovell, the state adjutant VFW?
SPEAKER1 - Yes.
SPEAKER16 - Virtual, sir. Yes, sir. I wanna thank yourselves, a member of the committee, for having the VFW here today.
SPEAKER15 - Sir, I'll
SPEAKER1 - be muted.
SPEAKER26 - Okay. I'm sorry. I thought mister LeBeau has already spoken. I should have stated at this time, I would like to pass the microphone over to the Massachusetts department adjunct Bill LeBeau for questions. My apologies, mister LeBeau. I thought you'd spoken earlier. Thank you.
SPEAKER16 - No. It's okay, Ken. We were speaking on I I spoke earlier on the bill
SPEAKER3 - that Still
SPEAKER11 - muted, sir.
LEBEAU - Thank you, sir. Thank the committee again for hearing us out. The VFW is in strong favor of the4651 bills that are in front of you today, but we want to as was stated in the opening4655 statement, we want4657 to emphasize that we should have a seat4659 on that commission. The VFW has been involved for several years in trying to address, property tax issues for veterans as committee members know. So we definitely feel that we should have a seat on that, commission.
I mean, I know personally on one of the bills I helped to send it to Moore, write that bill, and sponsor it. So I know that there are a lot of different approaches to that problem, and we recognize that it's probably a good approach to have a committee or a commission look at all of those issues to try to come up with something to address that need.
The bottom line, we do have veterans in an older population who are losing their homes because they can't afford property taxes and are also disabled, and it just seems that that Massachusetts should be able to do something about that. That's why we're strongly supportive of the governor's initiative, the legislature, the senate, whoever's going to address We definitely want to be part of that conversation.
As far as the other bills you've heard today, we are strongly supporting everything that you've heard testifying Because the bottom line is we've got to do better than what we've been doing. We're doing great on many levels, but on so many others, we're not. As testified earlier, you know, we don't want the 115 benefits to, prevent, a veteran from becoming homeless, which is the whole purpose of the 115, is to help them from becoming homeless.
So, we welcome any questions that anyone may have. Just some background for committee members who may be new and not know who the VFW is. We have 150 posts across the state of Massachusetts. We have 20,000 plus members of our, members in auxiliary. All VFW members, including Senator Villas, are well aware of this and have served in combat.
That's under our congressional charter. That's why the definition is there. So we are the strongest advocate of combat veterans in the state. We have a service office team that's covering geographically the whole state of Massachusetts in the last 12 months for VFW POA claims. That means that VFW initiated federal benefits. Our latest numbers, in the last 12 months, $85,000,000 has come in The Commonwealth of Massachusetts from POA VFW claims.
That counts all claims, they could be 20 years old or they could have been filed yesterday. But if we filed it, that's the number, and that's a huge improvement of who we were just 6 years ago, and we're averaging about 10,000,000. So we're doing our part, and we're asking the legislator to do your part in just continuing to make sure that our vulnerable veterans and veteran population are taken care of with these bills that are in front of you. Thank you for your time.
VELIS - Questions, members of the committee? Well, just to answer one of your questions, the VFW will always have a seat at the table with this committee. We greatly appreciate the work of the veterans of foreign wars. You folks are insightful on any number of4839 issues, and we thank you for that. So seeing no questions, thank you very much4843 for your testimony today. Just Briefly recognized my friend, representative Kelly Pease, who has joined the hearing. David Paul. Continuing with SB 2489. Good morning. Good afternoon.
DAVID PAUL - VETERANS LAW CLINIC - Good afternoon. Thank you. My name is David Paul, and I'm a student at Harvard Law School where I've had the honor and the privilege of advocating for Massachusetts veterans through the school's Veterans Law Clinic. This includes representing sending a veteran whom I believe You may have heard from earlier today, a Chapter 115 benefit recipient who had lost his home and then lost his health when his benefits were abruptly cut off.
Michael's experience showcases the essential role that chapter 115 benefits can play in many veterans' lives as you're well4894 aware, but it also showcases the urgently needed reforms. Specifically, Michael's harrowing experience underscores the need for veterans to continue to receive their Chapter 115 benefits Anytime they're eligible, eligibility is being reassessed, and the need for greater authority at the agency level to expedite appeals and to issue payments when local VSOs are unfortunately acting contrary to the law.
Michael is a U.S. Army veteran, who served honorably in the late 19 seventies, including service on the Korean peninsula, where part of his, assignment was to take care of injured soldiers. Michael started receiving Chapter 115 benefits in 2019. In early 2021, a new VSO began requesting additional documentation even though nothing about Michael's circumstances had changed.
Despite his best efforts at compliance, the VSO ended up terminating Michael's benefits on November 11, 2021, which, of course, was Veterans Day. After much unsuccessful back and forth, Michael did file an appeal with the EOBS in August of 2022, which was 9 months after he'd been cut off. In January of this year, 13 months after he was cut off, EOBS ruled in Michael's favor. But despite EOBS ordering the VSO to pay him the money he was owed, The VSO continued not to do so, and Michael had to file suit in superior court to enforce EOBS's own order against its own VSO. 17 months of no Chapter 115 benefits left their mark on Michael.
He couldn't afford rent, and he was homeless, and his health, including his cancer, deteriorated during that time. Michael's harrowing experience could have been avoided if 3 simple safeguards had been in place. State law should have guaranteed Michael the right to receive his benefits at the original level while his situation was under review.
The appeals mechanism should not have taken five months to get to a ruling, and EOBS should be required to take action when it's apparent that a VSO always defying its orders. These simple changes are obviously just a small slice of the important information and the important improvements that are before you today. But as you can see from Michael's case in particular, such small changes do have the power to save and sustain lives. Thank you all very much for your SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you for your testimony today. Questions, members of the committee? Appreciate you coming forward today. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER19 - Thanks,
SPEAKER1 - Alrighty. Next up, Michael Raymond, virtual.
Alrighty. We will loop back around. Next up,
Patrick George and Mike Sweeney.
Welcome, gentlemen.
PATRICK GEORGE - MVSOA - SB 2344 - SB 2347 - Thank you, Mr Chairman, Mr Chairman, and other members of the committee. My name is Patrick George. I'm the president of the Massachusetts Veterans Service Officers Association. Unfortunately, what we've heard today are 2 very contrasting opinions of individuals and their VSOs. The Massachusetts Veterans Service Office Association's goal is to bridge that gap and to ensure that veterans have a positive experience with their VSOs by the uniform application of Chapter 115 as regulated by EOVS.
A lot of the policy changes and proposals that we've heard today are subject to our MVSOA legislative agenda. Not all of those bills are on today's hearing. However, a lot of the ideas ranging from improved outreach to the exclusion of chapter 115, for housing determination are part of our legislative agenda, and we'd be happy to share that with you as we get closer to that.
I do want to speak on behalf of Senate bills 2344 and 2347, 2 bills filed by Senator Rush. Both of those bills address widows and dependents of veterans. As was discussed earlier, veteran service officers' jobs do not stop with the passing of a veteran. We are here to support the family members as well. These 2 bills will bridge that gap and will allow us to ensure that we can provide benefits to widows and spouses in circumstances that really have no that they may not have control over.
I would like to thank my colleague, Mike Sweeney, both of us Afghanistan veterans, having served, for joining as well. I think I met Mike about 6 or 7 years ago when I was a staffer hiding in the back of 1 of these hearing rooms. And, 6 or 7 years later, here we are, advocating for legislation on, together as a team for the MBS away. Thanks, Mike.
MIKE SWEENEY - MVSOA - HB 4021 - Thank you, Mr President, Chairman Villas, Chairman Cassidy, and members of the committee. I just want to say, to begin with, I'd like to, speak on behalf of the MVSOA of House Bill 4021 filed by, my good friend, army veteran, and representative Pete Capano. I think it's one of those ideas that may sound like common sense. I know we all but it certainly isn't it.
For every organ for every company, every employer with over 50 people to have a poster telling people there, where they can get help. That it's just common sense, but, obviously, it hasn't been done. I5211 want to thank, the representative for bringing that forward, and I want to thank the AFL CIO, the steelworkers, and for really these are the things that come up that I really think do matter. I think we won't know how many people really get benefits from this, but I think it's, through those things that are impossible5227 to quantify, but just the right5229 thing to do, and we know it will help.
So thank you for that. Secondly, I want to if could touch a little bit on the, On the, and just to reiterate to the legislature, to the committee, in specific. The MVSOA is here. We're a partner. We'd like to work with the legislature to find any to go to and streamline to improve Chapter 115. I think I can say, with all humility that there would not be a Chapter 115 program to, improve if we were not for the MVSOA and the work with the legislature. It would be gone. I think a little history is important.
The idea is that in town halls and city halls, you used to have the welfare department next to the veteran services department. The reason we're still there, the reason this program is still at a local level was not by accident. What we believe is that if it became a state program, it would leak and eventually go away. It would be a check-off box at DTA.
We believe, and I think we prove day in, and day out as VSOs, that the people who come in our office get more than just the benefits, having that veteran in their community at the local level, someone they can come and talk to. Having said that, We are here to improve the program.
Oftentimes, you'll hear about, issues that come up. We would argue sometimes that if one person is making a mistake, that's a management issue. When multiple people are making the same mistake, that's a training problem. What I would point to, respectfully is, in the budget every year, line item 1400024. It's a line item for training for VSOs.
Every year we advocated that is a a line item that would not exist if we were not for the advocacy of the MBSOA along with our great friends in the legislature. This year alone is $370,000 in there. We would like that to be something that people talk about maybe making a more robust training program. But again, we stand ready to be at the table.
I think there's no Chapter 115 reform that comes through that is not only successful to be passed but frankly, to be implemented without VSOs at the table. We really do. I think sometimes We have VSOs that, if you look at some of the issues that are being brought up, they're terrible and they're wrong. I've had the pleasure of working with, attorney Nagin on on cases, and I think we've talked about it where sometimes some of the issues you run into where The VSO is frankly just relaying the law as presented to us by EOVS.
They are there are good-faith actors on Allstate. They just believe they're in, in fact, I was, I was shocked to hear that when This gentleman was told by his VSO that the community would not pay. That e o why DVS, I believe it was the time, did not make the payment. My understanding in the 20 years I've been in the job is that if the community does not make the payment, The Commonwealth had the legal right to pay that veteran directly, and that would come out of the cherry sheet in the next year for the veteran.
I believe EOVS believes maybe the laws in Disney do not give them that authority, but it's not through lack of imagination that this is not a new issue, and that should have been taken care of, quickly. Frankly, I would argue that that veteran that that office should be considered out of compliance, and that is something as well that EOVS has the right to then put that that town into a lower level of reimbursement. So we're here to work.
I'll tell you, many of our VSOs are working hard. I think what we really want to do is, just sit down at the table and make sure that we get this right, with the understanding. I think say this a lot as much as this is an emergency, we want to measure twice and cut once. We don't want to have to go if we do this again in the next, go around. A good example of that is how certification is now the law in Massachusetts for VSOs.
Not to go back in the way back machine, but I'm old enough to remember when the5463 administration at the time was opposed to that. It was the envious away along with our friends in the legislature. He's already, had to go to another hearing, but Senator Mike Rush. That was his bill that we put through, that we were able to make it so veterans agents and veteran service officers and the Commonwealth are certified. We worked with them.
We're happy to do it again. We're proud to do it again to work with the legislature, the administration, and any advocates. As I said, I believe everyone's heart is in the right place. I think we all want the same thing, at least in this room. I think what we want to do is, maybe we can get to the table and figure out differences of perspective to make sure that the program does work for veterans and their families and for Gold Star families. So with that, I'll end my testimony and just say thank you for having us here again. If you have any questions, we're SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Questions, members of the committee?
XIARHOS - Yes. Thank you, chairman. Just, to commend both of you. I was there Saturday in Boston when you were both honored by the governor for your service to our commonwealth, and for stepping up today to, explain and defend, and participate. I know that as a state representative when I have any questions about a veteran issue, which are complicated and you're right. Many people don't even know about a VSO. I go right to the VSOs on the cape, and they make that contact, and they change lives. So I thank you both for what you and your families do and, look forward to working more together in the future. Thank you, chairman.
CAPANO - Yes. I just want to echo the sentiments of, my colleague here. I'm well aware of the work that you do, Mike, and, very appreciative. You can always and also do a thankless job at so while you hang in there. I appreciate you coming, and driving all the way to Lynn. We met, secretary Santiago. You know? So I know it would besides the day-to-day things that, you all do, you're strong Advocates for veterans, and I appreciate that. You should be recognized for that. Thank you.
VELIS - Yes. It's just not that. You go beyond. Right? I just recently had a road race not too long ago. I saw you at. Pretty sure you ran and you did not just kidding. But you folks go above and beyond in any issue that touches on these subject matters. I think it goes without saying that you folks need to be at the table. So we appreciate your advocacy. Always there, willing to chat. Always want to have conversations, far beyond both of your respective communities. So appreciate it. Thank you very much for your time today. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
Alright. We're gonna try again. Ryan Constantino, Virtual.
How about Linda Louisa Crapp.
SPEAKER4 - Afternoon. Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
SPEAKER1 - Are you
SPEAKER11 - No. Hello? Hear us?
SPEAKER4 - I can hear you. Can you hear me?
SPEAKER1 - You're muted, ma'am.
SPEAKER4 - And now it says I'm unmuted.
SPEAKER1 - We can hear you now. You're good. Thank you. Floor is yours.
LINDA KRAPT- CONCERNED CITIZEN - HB 4021 -Yes. Hi. Thank you. I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to testify. I'm listening to all these, wonderful testimonies. I'd like to just state that the standardized application would have helped, Michael Memna. I am his home health aide and was with him during his struggle to find, help with Chapter5697 115.5697 And it took months to get to accidentally run across the Harvard Law team who had been fighting for Michael and finally won his, back pay.
The standardized filing would have5714 helped with the, need for the VSO wanting all this extra paperwork that wasn't required. During this, Michael has been reaching out to other vets and, we run across many vets and, their families who don't know about the program. He's been spreading the word about the program from town to town. Today, we went to the fuel assistance and ran across a dispatch of a deceased veteran who had no idea about the program and is struggling and we've run into homeless vets.
They need to get the knowledge out of this wonderful program. It is indeed a great thing to be working on. I'd like to thank everybody's, their effort in this in this case. I'd like to also report that Michael is in a town with a wonderful BSO, and it is such a wonderful asset. Just so proud that, this state is offering this to our vets. I'd just like to thank you for that. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - We thank you for testifying today. Questions, members of the committee? Alrighty. Alrighty. Thank you very much for your testimony today. Have a great day.
How about Michael Raymond?
Michael Raymond, Ryan Constantino?
Anybody else who's here who hasn't testified that wants to testify?
Seeing no 1, moving to adjourn.
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