As the war in Iraq went into full motion, elected officials in Congress
and the states were looking for ways to thank U.S. troops for their service.
The House passed legislation by a 422-0 vote making child care benefits,
housing aid, and burial payments tax-free for military personnel and their
families. The Senate Finance Committee had already approved a similar
bill, and supporters expected it to easily fly through the full Senate.
The federal measure would allow military families to use tax-free education
savings accounts for tuition at military academies. Military forces deployed
away from home would be exempt from laws requiring people to live in a
house for two of five years in order to qualify for a capital gains tax
break on the sale of that house. The legislation would also provide up
to $1,500 in tax deductions for National Guard and Reserve members' travel
expenses when they have to stay overnight more than 100 miles from home
as part of their official duties.
State leaders, meanwhile, were pushing measures of their own. New Democrat
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, for example, signed an executive order
extending benefits for families of nearly 2,800 Arizona residents deployed
through the Reserves and National Guard.
"Some families are undergoing clear hardship right now," said
Napolitano.
The governor's order extended for at least a year the health care and
insurance benefits for state employees who would otherwise lose them when
called to active military duty. The order granted extensions to those
with state professional health services licenses, such as doctors, nurses,
and physicians assistants. And it gave all active military personnel automatic
extensions of their car registrations and inspections.
Napolitano further ordered state agencies to examine pay differentials
for state employees serving in active duty. They are also to evaluate
the possibility of providing Arizona college tuition waivers for the families
of service personnel killed, incapacitated, or severely injured in the
line of duty. She called on them to search for additional protections
and benefits that might be appropriate for state employees serving in
the Guard.
