Credit: © John Meore/The Journal News via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Syndication: Westchester County Journal News
NEW YORK (77WABC) — Gov. Kathy Hochul yesterday proposed legislation that would let members of the National Guard qualify as veterans under New York state law, giving them access to veterans benefits.
“In my opinion, they never got the recognition they deserved. It’s 20 years overdue, but I’m here to set that straight,” Hochul said. “I will continue to have your backs because you have ours every single day. And to ensure that you are not just recognized in word, but also in deed.”
The @NationalGuardNY were there for us on that dark day 20 years ago, and we will be there for them.
Today, I introduced legislation that ensures all of the National Guard members ordered into service at Ground Zero are fully recognized as Veterans under NYS law. pic.twitter.com/jI6PnuhJO5
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) September 11, 2021
Hochul appeared at the Jacob Javits Center with the commander of the New York Army National Guard, Major Gen. Raymond F. Shields, Jr., to honor National Guard members for their service on and after the Sept. 11 attacks. She thanked the members of the New York National Guard for deploying to countries such as Afghanistan, describing her own visit where she saw them.
“I had the opportunity as a member of Congress, to see many members of the New York National Guard in battle fatigues in a godforsaken country,” Hochul said. “It looked like the moonscape when you flew over the mountains and you landed.”
