In recognition of the Veterans Day holiday, Senator James Skoufis (D-Hudson Valley) is honored to highlight several recent initiatives aimed at supporting our local Veterans. These wins include:
- His recent announcement of over $750,000 in new grant funding for local American Legions and VFW posts to enable much-needed upgrades to their aging facilities.
- His office’s successful advocacy to give Veterans expanded access to FreshConnect, a voucher program that allows our service members to bring home fresh, affordable produce from local farmers’ markets. Participants can now stop by any county veterans’ office to pick up their FreshConnect vouchers.
- Securing an additional $185,000 each for Orange, Ulster, and Rockland counties in this year’s budget to expand the Dwyer Vet2Vet Program locally.
- Expansion and enhancement of the “hire-a-vet” tax credit for three years to help our retired servicemen and women stay engaged in the civilian workforce.
- Elevating the existing Division of Veterans’ Services to a cabinet-level Department of Veterans Services, helping to improve advocacy and awareness at the state level for the issues most important to our Veterans and their families.
“Given all our brave servicemen and women have sacrificed to protect our nation, we owe it to them to support their livelihoods and families upon their return to civilian life,” said Senator Skoufis. “To all who’ve served, you have my deepest gratitude and the commitment that my team and I will never stop fighting to represent your needs in Albany.”