093_HR0541
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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Thousands of men and women have devoted their
3 lives to protect our freedoms and have sacrificed themselves
4 to keep their fellow Americans safe; these men and women have
5 served in the military both here at home and across the
6 world; and
7 WHEREAS, Despite their devotion to their country, 200,000
8 veterans are waiting between 6 months and 2 years for a
9 primary healthcare appointment at the Veterans
10 Administration; 14,000 veterans have been waiting for more
11 than 15 months for the "expedited" disability claims to be
12 finalized; almost 300,000 veterans are homeless on any given
13 night and more than one-half million experience homelessness
14 over the course of a year; and 560,000 disabled veterans
15 across the country are being denied their full pension; and
16 WHEREAS, There are 32,514 veterans in Illinois who
17 receive military retirement benefits; of these veterans, more
18 than 7,000 veterans also receive disability benefits and are
19 subject to the Disabled Veterans Tax; and
20 WHEREAS, Statewide, the Disabled Veterans Tax costs
21 veterans $2.7 million each month in lost disability benefits;
22 on a per-veteran basis, the tax costs each affected veteran
23 an average of $4,625 of the approximately $15,800 retirement
24 benefit received, which is a 23% reduction in benefits; and
25 WHEREAS, House Resolution 303, which is the Retired Pay
26 Restoration Act of 2003, would eliminate the Disabled
27 Veterans Tax for all retired veterans with at least 20 years
28 of service; passage of this resolution would result in
29 increased benefits in the amount of $32.6 million annually
30 for affected Illinois veterans; therefore, be it
31 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
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1 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
2 we urge the United States Congress to support House
3 Resolution 303 to eliminate the Disabled Veterans Tax; and be
4 it further
5 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
6 presented to each member of the Illinois Congressional
7 delegation.