Honoring our Veterans

Honoring the tremendous sacrifice and courageous service of our veterans and their families is our shared moral responsibility.  On Veterans Day, we come together to publicly proclaim our thanks and admiration, but our gratitude should drive our words and actions every day.

As a community, we share an opportunity to show our veterans and their families how much we value their service to us all.  Part of our commitment is making sure that all veterans receive the benefits and services they deserve, including health care, mental health and counseling services, housing support, childcare, and education, job training and placement services so that they can find high-quality, 21st century jobs.  

With the strong partnership of our local Veterans’ Services Officers, Massachusetts leads the nation in our support for our 388,000 veterans.  But we can do more.  I’m proud that the Senate has acted to expand benefits, increase access to services and strengthen the recognition and honor given to our veterans and servicemen and women.

Known as the Valor Act II, this legislation includes a provision I championed that was developed by the Melrose Veterans Advisory Board to extend property tax benefits to the spouses of deceased or disabled veterans.  In 2012, the legislature created an option for cities and towns to opt-in to a program allowing veterans to volunteer services in exchange for a reduction of real property tax bills.  This legislation extends the volunteer veteran property tax credit to the spouse of a veteran who is deceased or disabled.

In addition, to assist students who are called to active duty, this bill allows students who are unable to complete their coursework the option to complete the course at a later date or withdraw with a full refund of fees and tuition. If the student decides to withdraw, the academic record must reflect that the withdrawal was due to active military service.

During their service many veterans have received training in the field, and that training should be recognized as they transition to private employment. As such, this bill also requires the Division of Professional Licensure, the Department of Public Health and boards of registration to waive license and certification fees for service members and their spouses in areas where they have received training.

To aid disabled veterans and allow them to function more independently in their homes, this bill requires relevant agencies to establish guidelines for a veterans’ home modification program.

Importantly, the legislation creates a buffer zone of 500 feet for demonstrations at any military funeral; and it increases penalties for such demonstrations.

The bill also includes several new ways for us to honor the service of Massachusetts veterans, including through the creation of a new “Support our Veterans” license plate.

As President Kennedy once said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” On this Veterans Day, let’s recommit ourselves to this call, and let’s tell our veterans that we will never forget their service and their sacrifice, and we will provide for our national heroes and their families.

###