A bill (H.B. 592) to help military families, sponsored by State Rep. Rich Grucela, D-Northampton, passed the state House passed unanimously yesterday. It protects members of the Pennsylvania National Guard and other United States reservists, as well as their spouses, from losing college tuition or credit if deployed before the end of a semester. Current law already protects the service member, but Grucela’s legislation extends that privilege to spouses, too."Military families make many sacrifices when enrolling in the military, but this is a situation we can easily fix," Grucela said. "When a National Guard member or reservist is called to duty, their spouse's life is uprooted as well. The last thing they should have to worry about is losing credit or tuition. I thank my colleagues for giving their unanimous support to this bill, especially as we come off the Memorial Day holiday."
Grucela hopes the legislation, which the House passed last session but languished in the Senate, would be taken up immediately in the Senate and signed into law.
"This is the second session in a row that the House has passed this bill," Grucela said. "I hope this time the chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee will move this legislation out of committee and allow the full Senate to consider it."
Under the legislation, if a Guard member or reservist was called to active duty, other than active duty for training, the educational institution in which the member is enrolled would grant the member or his or her spouse a military leave of absence from their education without the loss of academic credits earned or forfeiture of scholarships or grants awarded prior to the commencement of the military duty.
Educational institutions also would be required to refund tuition or fees paid, or credit the tuition and fees to the next semester or term when the member returns.
Grucela serves on the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee.
11 comments:
Very nice. Good job.
Why doesn't he help us avoid unnecessary war?
We need to say good bye to this guy.
You're out of your mind. A state rep has nothing to do with our national defense. He proposed legislation to mnake life easier for the families who pay the price.
If you can't respect that, we need to say goodbye to you. If you're trying to make Grucela look bad, you failed. You just made yourself look bad.
Don't like Grucela, especially after his low class treatment of a constituent in this space.
He's right on this one, however. Good work.
Is this the same politician who insulted a poster here? He never did apologize did he?
If I recall correctly, he verbally accosted the poster and insisted the poster never did anything for public service in his life. I suppose he feels that way about all of us.
Grucela has never done a single public service he wasn't paid for. He still owes that apology. He's typical of politicians who hold voters in contempt. He hates bosses where he doesn't have union protection for poor performance.
A kiss your mother resolution.
Bernie, if Ron Heckman and Callahan can effect national healthcare from their current positions as a past comment mentioned, than this man is solely responsible for the Iraq war.
It appeares that Grucela has an enemy. In the attempt to make Grucela look bad, this person just made himself look that way.
It appears someone is laying the hate on Grucela, Callahan and Heckman. Could it be an ambitious young pol on the make with his shifty advisor.
Anon 12:53, BINGO! I think the aforementioned folks know who is spreading the hate.
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