Veterans Day 2007

625,000 vets call Washington home

From the American Revolution to the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, in peace and in war, 48 million people have served our nation through military service.

Roughly half of them are alive today — mostly veterans of World War II, the Korean Conflict, Vietnam and the Cold War — and about 625,000 call Washington home.

Veterans’ Day — Nov. 11 — is a holiday to recognize the men and women who have served in the United States military.

While it’s important for us to set aside a special day to remember the service of our nation’s veterans, it’s even more important for us to repay the dept that we owe them — not just on Veterans’ Day, but every day.

This is the spirit in which Senate Democrats this year sponsored more than a dozen bills intended to provide veterans in Washington with benefits and services that can only begin to repay them for their patriotism.

Senate Democrats opened the 2007 by honoring a promise to pass a bill sponsored last year by Rep. Dan Roach, R-Bonney Lake, to prohibit disruptive behavior at military funerals.

But that was just the start.

During the course of the 2007 legislative session, Senate Democrats sponsored a broad range of veterans’ oriented legislation, including:

• Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, a recently discharged veteran who saw service in Kosovo and Iraq, sponsored two bills that passed with broad bipartisan support, and went into effect on July 22, 2007.

Senate Bill 5242 creates internships for returning wounded veterans in jobs that match their skills in the Washington State Department of Transportation, and SB 5123 extends the state’s discrimination protections to cover all honorably discharged veterans and active or reserve service personnel.

Hobbs also sponsored SB 5029 to close a loophole in the scoring of civil service exams to make sure job applicants receive additional points based on their veteran status, and SB 5430 to allow state employees to donate sick leave to co-workers who are called into military service. The Uniformed Service Shared Leave Pool (USSLP) was created under a companion bill from the House, and details about the program are available on the Web site of the Washington State Military Department

For the 2008 Legislature, Hobbs plans to reintroduce legislation on veterans’ outreach (SB 5441) and tuition waivers (SB 5442)

• Sen. Ken Jacobsen, D-Seattle, is a disabled veteran who was recently selected as “Legislator of the Year” by the Washington Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the governor’s Veterans’ Affairs Advisory Committee.

During the 2007 Legislature, Jacobson sponsored SB 5164, which requires the state Department of Natural Resources to help enrollees in the Veterans Conservation Corps obtain jobs in conservation programs and projects that restore and maintain Washington’s natural habitat. This bill passed with unanimous support in both houses, and went into effect in July.

Another bill by Jacobsen, SB 5280, would establish a “Dollars for Military Scholars” program that would provide grants for active or retired military members, as well as their spouses and dependents.

• Sen. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, who received the Glenn Galbreath Award from the Northwest Chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America (NWPVA) for his work on veterans’ issues, sponsored SB 5253 to require the state to develop and maintain a current list of veteran-owned businesses and to create a logo that can be displayed to identify these businesses to the public. The bill passed with unanimous support in both the Senate and the House, and went into effect in July. Veteran- owned businesses can register online with the Veterans’/Service Member Owned Business Registry of the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs.

For the 2008 Legislature, Kilmer plans to reintroduce SB 5289 to require the state to pursue a goal of steering at least 3 percent of projects to businesses owned by veterans.

• Sen. Craig Pridemore, D-Vancouver, a veteran of the active duty service in the U.S. Army, sponsored SB 5255 to issue a high school diploma to anyone who left high school before graduation to serve in the armed forces.
   
• Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, proposed SB 5256 to exclude veterans’ benefits when calculating property tax relief for retirees.
   
• Sen. Tracey J. Eide, D-Federal Way, sponsored SB 5040 to provide scholarships for surviving spouses and dependants of military members who lose their lives or become totally disabled while serving on active duty.
   
• Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane, proposed SB 5058 to create a state veterans cemetery to accommodate veterans east of the Cascades.

Thanks to the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs for help with the dogtag photo.