Neighbor News
Houghtaling, Downey Bill to Boost Care for 'Wounded Warriors' Now Law
The bill is aimed at assisting the growing number of family members caring for wounded vets in the post-9/11 era
Legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling and Assemblywoman Joann Downey to boost assistance for "wounded warriors" and their caregivers, an ever-growing demographic that faces unique challenges in the post-9/11 era, is now law.
The lawmakers were inspired by a 2014 RAND Corporation study that included a number of unsettling statistics regarding the care of wounded veterans in the post-9/11 era, most notably that an estimated 1.1 million civilians are providing volunteer caregiving services to wounded veterans. Meanwhile, the study found that 53 percent of post-9/11 voluntary caregivers have no support network.
The sponsors also noted that 12 percent of these voluntary caregivers provide more than 40 hours of care per week, which would be worth $3 billion annually in services if the care were not voluntary. Additionally, studies have shown that employee assistance programs for military caregivers have reduced absenteeism by 43 percent and enhanced work productivity.
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The new law (A-450), the "Wounded Warrior Caregivers Relief Act," will provide an income tax credit to family caregivers of certain former members of the military with service-connected disabilities.
The law sets the refundable qualified veteran care credit at 100 percent of the service member's disability compensation or $675, whichever is less. To qualify for the credit, a caregiver must:
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- Be related to the service member within the third degree;
- Share a residence with the service member for at least six months of the year;
- Have a gross income that does not exceed $100,000 as a joint filer or $50,000 as a single or separate filer.
"This is the right thing do for those who have sacrificed so much," said Houghtaling (D-Monmouth). "We need to do everything we can do to ensure proper care for armed service members with physical disabilities. We owe them."
The measure gained unanimous approval from both house of the legislature before being signed into law by the governor on Thursday.
