January 22, 2008 1:45 PM
HUNH! GOP Troika votes against Military Family support bill?
By Alan Gathright
It’s not every day that conservative Republicans oppose helpig military families.
But that’s what happened today in the House Finance Committee when three Republican lawmakers opposed HB 1035, which would reauthorize the Military Family Relief Fund, a check-off box on the state income tax form to donate to help cash-strapped military families pay for everything from child care to mortgage payments.
The critics said the state shouldn’t be spending money to shore up the federal government’s failure to fund military families.
“I would characterize it as a bailout for federal failure,� said Rep. Douglas Bruce, who joined fellow Colorado Springs Republican Rep. Kent Lambert and Rep. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, in opposing the bill.
Bruce said lawmakers should be streamlining the tax form – not cluttering it up.
Bill co-sponsor Rep. Morgan Carroll, D-Carroll, replied that the fund created in 2005 is the second-most popular check-off charity on the tax form and it’s just getting rolling.
“What I think is unacceptable is to further use the men and women serving this country who are already struggling to make a political point,� Carroll said.
After the philosophical debate, the committee voted 8-3 to advance the bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Spencer Swalm, R-Centennial.
The fund will expire this year unless reauthorized by the legislature.
Since it took effect in mid-2006, $436,000 has been donated. So, far $122,000 has gone to 24 families, with grants averaging $5,200. The fund has provided financial assistance for military families, that include a Colorado taxpayer, who face financial hardship due to deployment.
Lambert, a military vet with 35 years of service, stressed that residents of the Air Force Academy’s ZIP code are the most generous charitable donors in the state.
His point: We in the military take care of our own.
For more information on the Military Family Relief Fund, call Crystal Strain of the Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs at (720) 250-1191,
April 23, 2011
1:34 PM
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October 4, 2011
2:49 PM
House Training A Puppy writes:
I agree with your HUNH! GOP Troika votes against Military Family support bill? : Live from the Colorado Legislature
: Rocky Mountain News, good post.