Felag: Veterans' home bill is unacceptable

Posted 2/5/20

NOTE: Sen.Walter Felag (District 10, Warren, Bristol and Tiverton) sent this letter to East Bay Media Group this week:

I have a real problem with Article 16 of the Governor’s proposed FY 2021 …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Felag: Veterans' home bill is unacceptable

Posted

NOTE: Sen.Walter Felag (District 10, Warren, Bristol and Tiverton) sent thisletter to East Bay Media Group thisweek:

I have a real problem with Article 16 of the Governor’s proposed FY 2021 state budget, which relates to the state Veterans Home in Bristol. The “revenue generators” proposed in the article are completely unacceptable and, frankly, insulting to our state’s veterans.

The “revenue generators” the administration is proposing are:

  • Taking 100 percent of a veteran’s income to live at the Veterans Home, rather than the 80 percent currently in law.
  • Confiscating deceased veterans’ estates in probate if no next of kin can be located.
  • Increasing the fee for spouses buried next to their partners in the Veterans Cemetery.

    All of these unacceptable “revenue generators” are proposed to offset increased costs and the financial shortfall the home is facing due to improper budgeting. It is unconscionable to expect our veterans to pay for this increased cost within this brand new, state-of-the-art facility, which is the final home for our esteemed and honored veterans. We need to utilize better budgeting techniques.
  • As a Vice-Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs committee, I strongly oppose the proposed budget Article 16 taking more money out of our veterans’ pockets while glossing over the budgetary problems of the Veterans' Home. I have also co-sponsored a Senate bill to require the General Assembly to appropriate necessary funds for the furnishing of in-house occupational therapy services for all residents of the Bristol Veterans' Home.
  • Our veterans have already paid and sacrificed enough, and they deserve to live in the Veterans' Home without having their pockets fleeced and bank accounts choked dry.
  • My Number One priority is eliminating Article 16 relating to Veterans’ Services in the 2021 budget by enlisting the Senate and House leadership to strike this language early in the fiscal budget session.

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.