Military widow’s tax repeal signed into law

James Troiola, chairman of the American Legion’s Legislative Commission, and Maine Senator Susan Collins. (contributed photo)

U.S. Senator Susan Collins recently met with James Troiola, a resident of Windham and the Chairman of The American Legion’s Legislative Commis­sion, in her Washington, D.C., office.

“For more than a century, the American Legion has been committed to ensuring veterans and their families have access to the care and resources they have earned and deserve,” said Senator Collins. “As the Chairman of the American Legion’s Legislative Commission, James is devoted to improving services for veterans across Maine and the nation. I look forward to working with him to ensure our government continues to support our veterans.”

As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Collins secured important funding to improve rural veterans’ access to health care, support veteran caregivers, and decrease veteran homelessness in the final funding package.

Last month, Senators Collins and Doug Jones (D-AL) announced their legislation to repeal the military widow’s tax had been signed into law as part of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The American Legion is the largest wartime veterans service organization with 2.4 million members in more than 12,000 posts in nearly every community in America. The Legion, established by an act of Congress in 1919, was instrumental in getting the original GI Bill through Congress and in the creation of the Department of Veterans Affairs.