Vets Connect Bill Passes the Senate Transportation Committee

(Albany, NY)- State Senator Gustavo Rivera released the following statement today after bill S775, also known as the Vets Connect,  passed the New York State Senate Transportation Committee. The Vets Connect bill, which is sponsored by Senator Rivera in the Senate and Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz in the Assembly, will enable veterans to voluntarily identify themselves to receive benefits information when applying or renewing their driver’s license through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).  The bill is now eligible to be placed on the Senate Active list. Vets Connect has passed unanimously in the State Senate for the last three years in a row, but has never been brought for a vote in the Assembly Transportation Committtee. 
 
"I am proud that for a fourth consecutive year my colleagues in the Senate Transportation Committee have joined me in pushing the Vets Connect bill towards the next step of the legislative process. The goal of this bill is simple - to create an avenue to identify veterans in order to ensure that they are well informed of the series of benefits they may be entitled to due to their years of service. I urge Chairman Gantt to allow his colleagues at the Assembly Transportation Committee to review this bill and possibly vote it out of committee. I’m fully committed to continue working with Assemblymember Dinowitz and my colleagues in the Senate to ensure we pass this common sense measure through both houses and make sure that the brave men and women who served our nation get the help and support they need.”