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Hartford – State Representative Tami Zawistowski voted in favor of SB 284 ‘An Act Concerning Benefits for Certain Veterans Who Have Been Diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or Traumatic Brain Injury or Who May Have Had an Experience of Military Sexual Trauma’. The legislation would extend existing veterans benefits offered by the state to veterans who have been diagnosed with those conditions and received an ‘other than honorable’ discharge.
In recent years, there have been growing instances of suicide and substance abuse amongst veterans, including those with other than honorable discharges. According to public testimony from veterans groups, many other than honorable discharges are the results of the symptoms of conditions like PTSD and TBI.
“This is going to be a great help to a lot of our veterans who have served our country well, but have received other than honorable discharges for reasons beyond their control,” said Rep. Zawistowski. “These veterans are at a much higher risk for suicide. I am also glad that the National Guard was included, as many of them have been deployed multiple times to areas of conflict. This bill is the right thing to do.”
The proposal was supported by numerous veterans groups and advocates. Rep. Zawistowski has also co-sponsored the legislation. The bill passed the House and Senate unanimously. To track this and other legislation visit www.cga.ct.gov.
