Treasurer seeking bonuses for Ohio combat vets
Business First of Columbus - by Matt Burns Business First
Ohio's treasurer is proposing a constitutional amendment that would award a bonus of up to $1,000 to Ohioans who served in the military during the nation's major combat engagements since 1990.
Treasurer Richard Cordray on Tuesday asked the state legislature to put a bond authorization of up to $200 million before voters for a proposed Ohio Veterans Bonus Amendment. The amendment would provide a one-time benefit to Ohioans who served or were on active duty during the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
Statistics as of October show more than 206,000 Ohioans have served, died or were listed as POW/MIA during the conflicts specified in the amendment, bringing an estimated cost for implementing the program to $105.9 million.
Using those figures, the state estimates annual debt service for the bonds would be about $9.5 million over 15 years.
The proposed compensation, using military data from October, totals:
• $100 per month served ($700 maximum) to 29,940 Ohioans on active duty during the 1990-91 Persian Gulf war - $20.96 million maximum cost.
• $50 per month served ($350 max) to about 85,000 Ohioans on active duty elsewhere during Persian Gulf war - $29.75 million.
• $100 per month served ($1,000 max) to 17,545 Ohioans on active duty in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars - $17.55 million.
• $50 per month served ($500 max) to 73,386 Ohioans on active duty elswhere during Afghanistan and Iraq wars - $36.69 million.
• $5,000 to families of 195 Ohioans killed or held as POW/MIA in Persian Gulf, Afghanistan or Iraq - $975,000.
Ohio has extended bonuses to military veterans for more than 200 years, the earliest being land warrants offered in exchange for service in 1776, according to the treasurer's office. In the 20th century, voters approved a total of more than $700 million in bonds to compensate World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam veterans. The Vietnam bonds, which totaled $185 million, were retired in 1989.
Treasurer's office spokeswoman Leesa Brown said the amounts outlined in the proposed amendment are in line with inflation-adjusted compensation the state has awarded in the past, and could change as the proposal moves through the legislature. Brown said the bond amount Ohioans have approved in the past typically well exceeds the actual amount financed, which the state also expects with the newest amendment.
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