U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines introduced two bipartisan bills to support Montana veterans, the bipartisan “Tricare Retiree Protection Act,” which protects Montana veterans from losing their healthcare and the bipartisan “Hire Student Veterans Act,” which provides a tax credit to businesses that employ veterans currently attending school and looking for internships and other job opportunities.
“My bipartisan legislation will ensure Montana veterans continue to have the healthcare they‘ve earned, as well as increase employment opportunities for student veterans,” Daines said. “I’ll always support and protect Montana veterans who have served our nation and defended our freedom.”
Tricare Retiree Protection Act
This legislation will ensure that Montana’s 9,500 military retirees will not lose their health care as a result of new policy changes that took effect on January 1st, 2021.
In 2017, Congress enacted a series of personnel reforms proposed by former Defense Secretary Ash Carter under the Obama Administration, including new fees on TRICARE health plans for beneficiaries who do not receive care at a military treatment facility and an “open season” enrollment period mirroring Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
“Recent changes to TRICARE policy puts thousands of military retirees at risk of losing healthcare with no recourse. Western Montana MOAA supports legislation to hedge this risk and keep faith with the men and women who devoted the best years of their lives to the defense of our nation.” – Western Montana chapter of the Military Officers Associations of America
For more information on TRICARE changes, or to establish a payment plan, click here.
Hire Student Veterans Act:
This legislation will provide a tax credit for businesses that hire part-time veterans who are using their GI benefits and taking advantage of paid internships and other work opportunities while still in school.
Daines’ bill would expand the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to include student veterans using their GI benefits and taking advantage of paid internships or work opportunities while in school. It will incentivize employers to hire more student veterans for part-time work and paid internships by automatically qualifying employers, who hire veterans using their GI Bill benefits, for the WOTC 40% tax credit on the first $6,000 of a new employee’s first-year wages.
For more information on the bill, click HERE.