Allen Legislation to Support National Guard Members

October 18, 2007

Contact: Senate Republican Office / (609) 292-5199
Senator Diane Allen (R-7)

Senator Diane Allen (R-7) announced today that she is sponsoring legislation to support National Guard members and their families during what is being described as the state’s largest single deployment of Army National Guard troops since World War II.

“We are grateful for the service and sacrifice of the men and women who are members of the New Jersey National Guard, and state government should do whatever is needed to make life as simple as possible for them and their families while they are away,” said Allen. “I am sponsoring legislation that will help National Guard troops and their families by providing additional support services and helping them cut through the red tape and bureaucracy that plagues them while they are deployed overseas.”

Senator Allen’s legislation would do the following:

Require the state to provide unemployment benefits for the spouses of National Guard members who are forced to quit their job because their spouse has been deployed.

Require the state to provide child care assistance in certain circumstances if one or both parents in the National Guard is deployed.

Protect members of the Armed Services who are adopting a child from having the process held up because one spouse is deployed.

Require the Department of Motor Vehicles to waive deadlines, and do everything possible to accommodate members of the Armed Services.

“There are other states that provide the services I am proposing, and New Jersey needs to also provide these benefits,” added Allen. “The men and women of the National Guard are the people who have stepped up and have committed to serve our state and the nation. This is really the least we can do to help them and their families.”

Link to Post:

http://www.senatenj.com/index.php/allen/allen-legislation-to-support-national-guard-members/141