Among the many pieces of important legislation not enacted by the Pennsylvania legislature in 2005 was a bill that would permit the state to pay life insurance premiums for Pennsylvania National Guard members serving their country in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo.
More than 3,300 Pennsylvania guardsmen are serving in active combat zones overseas, and sadly, 11 have been killed in Iraq so far.
In the frenzy to line their own pockets with 16 to 24 percent pay raises before taking a 10-week summer vacation, legislators never bothered to vote on the insurance bill, or any other legislation to assist National Guard servicemen and women and their families.
The total cost to cover life insurance premiums for Pennsylvania’s National Guard soldiers and airmen for one year comes to about $1 million. The annual premium for a member of the National Guard or reserves is $312 a year, which provides $400,000 coverage for their families.
The $1 million cost of the program is a pittance in the bloated $24 billion state budget that was adopted by the legislature and signed by Gov. Ed Rendell in July.
At least one lawmaker was quoted in news accounts as saying he was looking for ways to save money and didn’t want to set a precedent by picking up the cost of the life insurance for guardsmen on federal duty because other government workers would expect the same benefit.
Ask any Pennsylvania resident where they would like to see the money go: in the pockets of the second-highest paid legislature in the country or to the families of National Guard members?
Our insensitive, greedy and unethical legislature never bothered to vote on the life insurance bill before heading for its summer vacation to spend the money its members gave themselves. In fact, lawmakers couldn’t even find the time to hold a hearing on the insurance bill, which was sponsored by Democratic Rep. Tom Tangretti.
We keep hearing how hard our lawmakers work and how many hours they spend in Harrisburg. Apparently not enough hours to schedule a hearing on this important bill or bring it to a vote over the first six months of this year.
State lawmakers have an opportunity to correct this disgraceful error in judgment when they return to Harrisburg on Sept. 26. One of the first orders of business should be to pass the 12-bill package intended to assist National Guard members and reservists.
In addition to paying the life insurance premiums, the bills would establish a Military Family Relief Fund, provide college education assistance for service members, implement anti-discriminatory measures, provide extended paid leave for service members and ensure absentee voter privacy for service members.
The legislature’s reluctance to support Pennsylvania men and women who are risking their lives for their country and their state is reprehensible. It’s another condemnation of a legislative body that has miles to go to win back the public trust it betrayed with middle-of-the night pay hikes, revelations of slush funds and the blatant disregard of the state Constitution by taking early pay raises as "unvouchered expenses."
When giving yourself a pay raise takes priority over providing assistance for the families of Pennsylvania servicemen and women killed in the line of duty, it’s time for sweeping changes in Harrisburg.
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