Advocacy · 2005 and 2007
Emergency Relief Funds
The first state money for veterans and Guard families in crisis.
A deployed soldier’s furnace dies in January. A wife back home can’t cover the rent until the next drill check clears. A veteran just out of uniform has no income between paychecks and a job.
In 2005 Brig. Gen. Mike Caldwell and I went to the Legislature together and asked for $1 million in emergency relief. Lawmakers split it: $500,000 for a new Veterans’ Affairs emergency assistance program, $500,000 to the Oregon National Guard’s emergency fund.
In 2007 we went back and asked for $750,000 for the Guard’s fund. The Legislature held the line, and both funds were renewed at $500,000.
Emergency housing, medical and dental bills, transportation, legal help, a bridge between discharge and a paycheck. Money in the fund, a family kept in their home.
Sources: Legislative Fiscal Office, Highlights of the 2005–07 Adopted Budget, p. 61 · Oregon Laws 2005, ch. 793 (SB 5629), § 3 · SB 5541 budget report, April 2007, p. 3 · SB 5549 (2007), § 35b
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