New York lawmakers are once again calling for the release of funds meant for veterans’ organizations.
Speaking in Albany Thursday, State Senator Jake Ashby, a Republican from the 43rd District, says the state still has not disbursed more than $3.4 million in tax check-offs even after a January report from state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli showed the money had not been paid out in at least six years.
“All of these funds need to be released and go for their intended use. They are donations given by the taxpayers, for men and women who've sacrificed on behalf of us in ways that I think many of us can't imagine,” Ashby said.
The legislators say $1.5 million for maintenance of a state veterans’ cemetery, over $1.3 million to assist homeless veterans, more than $360,000 for the veterans’ home assistance fund, and over $230,000 for military family relief needs to be disbursed.
Ashby, the ranking member on the Senate’s Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs Committee, is proposing legislation to streamline the tax check-off process for veterans’ services. That bill is in committee. In April, Governor Kathy Hochul’s office said the funding was flowing after Ashby and others called on the governor to act. In response to further request for comment from WAMC, Hochul’s press secretary Avi Small says the money will continue to be disbursed, adding that the Democratic governor has increased state funding for veterans’ service agencies.
“Since taking office, Governor Hochul has made record investments in the heroes who have served our country in uniform including by increasing minimum state funding for local veterans’ service agencies by 150 percent, providing millions of dollars in new funding to expand the Joseph P. Dwyer Veteran Peer-to-Peer Veterans’ Support Program statewide, and increasing resources for the Veterans Benefits Advising Program.”
Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh cosponsors Ashby’s streamlining legislation. The Republican from the 112th Districtsays the measure would place the Commissioner of Veterans Services in charge of voucher payouts and require the commissioner to issue an annual report on the payouts. She says it’s time to get the money out the door.
“I’ve been watching on the news, too. And the commissioner’s saying, you know, ‘oh, we're working on it,’ or ‘we're getting ready to, you know, release it.’ And, you know, I think that's been going on for a long enough time there,” Walsh said.
State Senator Jim Tedisco, a 44th District Republican, says he’s considering penalties to get the money flowing.
“When you don't pay your taxes on time, do you think you can hang around a little bit and you won't get a little notification from the state of New York? You not only have to pay your taxes, you're going to pay a penalty for it. Maybe we should put a penalty in this particular area,” Tedisco said.
Walsh says while she feels the money needs to be moved, she’s not in favor of Tedisco’s suggestion.
“I'm not really so much interested in penalizing anybody at this point. But I also think that enough is enough,” Walsh said.
At the legislators’ previous press conference at the state capitol in April calling for the release of the funds, Ashby blamed top-down incompetence in state government for the holdup, and reiterated those beliefs at Thursday’s press conference.
“It's still incompetence and apathy. Right now, we have met with members of the Governor's team and the department and continue to kind of get the same song and dance on this on this issue, meaning that it's coming. Well, six years is a long time to hear that,” Ashby said
Ashby says, while no Democrats have yet joined this measure, he expects that to change.
Harvey Martel is with Joseph E. Zaloga American Legion Post 1520, where the lawmakers gathered.
“I had a guy come walking by here the other day, taking cigarette butts out of this machine, butt cans outside. I told him, you know, ‘you got to get away.’ Know what he yelled to me? He said, ‘I spent two tours in Fallujah.’ You know, he's a veteran. Obviously, he absolutely needs some help,” Martel said.
