Legislation to expand eligibility for a New York State scholarship to spouses, children and dependents of military members who died in any official military capacity — not just combat — appeared to stall last week in an Assembly committee, but after roughly a week of negative headlines the proposal has gained new momentum.
- Scholarship would offer full ride to family of military members who died in any official military capacity
- Legislation stalled last week in an Assembly committee
- It appears to be getting a second chance in the state Senate
The Military Enhanced Recognition and Tribute (MERIT) scholarship currently offers a full ride, tuition, room and board, to those immediate family members of military members who died in combat.
Last week, the Assembly Higher Education Committee voted not to advance a bill expanding its eligibility forward. It appears to be getting a second chance in the state Senate.
"My feeling is on this piece of legislation, it shouldn't matter who's name is on the top of the bill,” state Senator Rob Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, said.
Ortt said he was notified this week the Senate Veterans Committee planned to introduce legislation on the next committee agenda, expanding free SUNY and CUNY college to students whose spouse or parent died while serving in any official military capacity. However, it will be carried by Democrats with minor changes from Ortt’s original bill.
"It's a good piece of legislation,” he said. “I would've liked if they just advanced it as it was but we're fine with supporting the new bill carried by Senator Brooks and with me as a co-sponsor."
Assembly Democrats seemed to block the proposal in the Higher Education Committee last week. Committee chair Deborah Glick noted fiscal concerns.
"Her position was, as chair of the committee, that it should have been advanced prior to the budget, that it was a budgetary matter and her recommendation was to hold the bill and not advance it further along in the process,” Assembly Member Karen McMahon, D-Williamsville, said.
McMahon was actually one of a few Democrats on the committee who voted, unsuccessfully, to push the bill through. However, she said she understood the concerns of members of her party, but she believes they were alleviated when the governor expressed support for the proposal, last week.
"It could happen as a stand-alone bill later this session. I suppose when the governor expresses a desire to do something, it's more likely to get done,” McMahon said.
But Ortt believes, more importantly, there was public backlash. He and other Republicans chastised Democrats for days.
"Killing this bill, which would have expanded access to tuition, the same thing a few months after they granted $27 million for the DREAM Act, which would have given college tuition to illegal immigrants, I think the optics of it was terrible and rightfully so. And I think they took a lot of bad press,” Ortt said.
The DREAM Act expanded state scholarship opportunities to undocumented children. Although those same opportunities are already available to military families, Ortt believes it is fair to compare the two bills.
"The Democrats, certainly in the Assembly, showed their priorities. The political narrative on the DREAM Act was far more important to them than the political narrative on this bill,” he said.
McMahon admitted she considered her support of the DREAM Act when she voted in favor of the MERIT eligibility expansion.
"Do I think they're linked? I think it's a natural comparison that people are going to make,” she said. “When they hear one thing, they get outraged. The two have been linked for better or worse."
The new version of this bill would not be effective until 2020, essentially alleviating concerns about money not being in this year’s budget. Ortt said he never bought that argument, since his original proposal didn't ask for additional money to be added to the MERIT scholarship pot.
He said he doesn’t believe the expansion will affect many families anyway and said Democrats often send bills to the governor whether he supports them or not.