Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton of Staten Island continues to serve as Chair of theSenate Standing Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security & Military Affairs. Aschair of the committee for the past three years, she has proven to be a staunch advocatefor veterans, having sponsored numerous measures, many of which were enacted intolaw.

Although not a veteran herself, her husband and father of her children is a combatveteran, having served two years in Afghanistan as a U. S. Army infantryman.Consequently, she is very closely attuned to issues impacting veterans and their families.Although Senator Scarcella-Spanton has completed just three years in office, I’ve knownher since before her first election, as she was a staff member for former Senator DianeSavino, a personal friend and ally of mine for more than 20 years. I have worked withSenator Scarcella-Spanton and her excellent staff on numerous issues during her firstthree years in Albany.

Commencing his second two-year term as Chair the Assembly Standing Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is Assemblyman Steve Stern. He is serving his tenth year in the state assembly, following six terms as a local legislator in Suffolk County. He is the rare Democrat elected in a county that leans overwhelmingly Republican, which can be attributed to his moderate views repeatedly demonstrated by his support for reasonable laws and for law enforcement. He has championed issues not only important to law enforcement, but numerous veterans’ issues as well. An attorney by trade, his speciality is elder law, so he is very closely attuned to the issues of VVANYSC’s aging membership. We have developed a great working relationship with Assemblyman Stern and his staff, especially his Legislative Director, Justin Littell.

I have reiterated to the respective veterans’ committee chairs VVANYSC’s commitment to all veterans, regardless of when or where they served, and that we will always assist with any and all veteran-related legislation. We take our motto, “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another” very seriously, and always strive to help those who follow us.

On behalf of VVANYSC, we prepared 10 formal memoranda in support of legislative proposals in 2025. The governor signed three of those measures into law, and vetoed two of them. The remaining five failed to advance through the committee process.

Following are the specific measures:

• An act (S274-B – Senator Monica Martinez / A8485 – Assemblyman Steve Stern) to amend the veterans’ services law, in relation to establishing voluntary opportunities for veterans. Status: Enacted as Chapter #666 of 2025 on December 19, with Approval Memo #47 of 2025.
• An act (S1183 – Senator Joseph Addabbo / A74 – Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato) to amend the real property tax law, in relation to establishing a real property tax exemption for veterans who have a one hundred percent service connected disability. Status: Enacted as Chapter #672 of 2025 on December 19, with Approval Memo #53 of 2025.
• An act (S3318 – Senator Scarcella-Spanton / A8822 – Assemblywoman Paula Elaine Kay) to amend the military law, in relation to authorizing additional paid leave for public employees who are absent on military duty. Status: Veto #112 of 2025 on December 12.
• An act (S3655 – Senator James Skoufis / A5552 – Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato) to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to establishing a twenty-five year retirement plan for firefighters employed by the division of military and naval affairs. Status: Failed to advance through the committee process.
• An act (S7129 – Senator Monica Martinez / A5155 – Assemblyman Steve Stern) to amend the veterans’ services law, in relation to veterans health care. Status: Veto #67 of 2025 on December 5.
• An act (S7642 – Senator Leroy Comrie / A7592 – Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages ) to amend the public health law, in relation to excluding the five New York state veterans’ homes from certain assessments. Status: Failed to advance through the committee process.
• An act (S7708-A – Senator Nathalia Fernandez / A6559-B – Assemblyman Michael Benedetto) to amend the veterans' services law, in relation to the establishing a veterans' bill of rights. Status: Failed to advance through the committee process.
• An act (S7786-A – Senator Joseph Addabbo / A7627-A – Assemblywoman Paula Elaine Kay) to amend the veterans' services law, in relation to availability of information on home care services. Status: Failed to advance through the committee process.
• An act (S8150 – Senator Siela Bynoe / A8476 – Assemblyman Steve Stern) to amend the veterans’ services law, the general business law, the penal law, and the state finance law, in relation to enacting the “governing unaccredited representatives defrauding (GUARD) VA benefits act”. Status: Enacted as Chapter #491 of 2025 on November 5.
• An act (A8473 – Assemblyman Stern) to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing a missing vulnerable veterans at risk program. Status: Failed to advance through the committee process.

Normally at this time of year VVANYSC submits formal request letters to the veterans’ committee chairs seeking funding in the upcoming state budget for VVANYSC, so that the senate and assembly may include the request in their respective budget proposals.

Over the course of decades, state funding has been used by VVANYSC to augment its highly-effective Veterans’ Service Officer (VSO) program, which over the decades has assisted innumerable veterans – of all ages! – by successfully preparing, presenting, prosecuting, and completing the Veterans’ Administration’s stringent, complicated disability application process. As you are well-aware, over the course of those decades, VVANYSC’s VSO program has resulted in scores of millions of federal dollars paid to New York veterans and their families in the form of veterans’ benefits, which has benefitted not only them, but the local economies in which they reside.

As you have informed me that VVANYSC is in the process of terminating its VSO program, we will no longer be seeking funding for it from the state, and I will be making the appropriate notifications and expressing our gratitude for the many years of funding.

As the 2026 legislative session progresses, I will apprise you of legislation and initiatives VVANYSC should support, formally or informally. Both veterans’ committee chairs have assured me that they are eager to once again strive to move veteran-related issues forward.

Very truly yours, and Semper Fidelis!

Bing Markee
President