House passes National Guard benefits legislation

Monday, May 23rd 2005, 6:43 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Legislation that will provide life insurance for members of the Oklahoma National Guard was sent to Gov. Brad Henry's desk Monday after it received final approval from the Oklahoma House.

House members voted 98-0 on the measure that will pay for the purchase of $250,000 life insurance policies for all members of the Oklahoma Army and Air National Guard. The bill was part of Henry's Operation Homefront package of National Guard benefits.

"I am pleased that this measure received such strong bipartisan support throughout the legislative process and I look forward to signing it soon," Henry said. The state Senate passed the measure 45-0 last week.

"Oklahoma National Guard members and their families make great sacrifices for this state and this nation, and they deserve the financial security provided by this bill," the governor said.

The measure will provide life insurance policies for 9,615 Oklahomans who serve in the state's National Guard, said Rep. John Carey, D-Durant, chairman of the House Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.

A $250,000 policy costs $16.25 a month. The program's total cost to the state during the coming year will be about $1.87 million.

"Many of the young men and women serving in the National Guard struggle to pay everyday bills," Carey said. Life insurance is a luxury for those families and they often go without coverage.

"Given the fact that so many Guard units are now being deployed overseas in war zones, the least we can do as a state is buy their life insurance policies to provide those families with some financial security in a worst-case scenario," Carey said.

Only one member of the Oklahoma National Guard, Spec. Kyle A. Brinlee of Pryor, has been killed in the line of duty during the Iraq war. Brinlee, 21, died on May 11, 2004, near Alasad, Iraq, when an explosive blew up the vehicle in which he was riding.

Carey said other deaths are possible given the heavy rotation of Oklahoma Guard units in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"The harsh realities of war require that some of our troops will not come home from the battlefield, and it is important that they know their families will be taken care of no matter what happens," said Rep. Gary Banz, R-Midwest City, a co-author of the bill.

Other portions of Henry's Operation Homefront initiative would exempt half of all military pensions from the state income tax, and create a checkoff box allowing Oklahomans to donate a portion of their tax refund to National Guard families in need of financial assistance.