Proposed Cuts In Veterans Benefits Draws Opposition

By Stephen Singer

HARTFORD — Cuts in aid to Connecticut veterans have stirred up opposition from two top state officials.

Major General William Cugno, adjutant general of the Connecticut National Guard, and Linda S. Schwartz, state veterans commissioner, said Monday that they oppose cuts made to the Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Marines’ Fund.

Operators of the fund, which was established by the General Assembly in 1919 to help returning World War I servicemen and has been expanded to include other veterans, have reduced the duration and amount of weekly assistance and financial help for rent and medical care for new applicants.

The maximum length of financial assistance was cut from 20 weeks to 13 weeks. Aid for housing payments was reduced to $350 from $450 for single veterans, and to $550 from $650 for married veterans. Aid for medical bills also was cut.

Gerald Dierman, administrator of the fund, said the cuts are due to increased demand. The number of cases handled by the agency has risen from about 45 to 80 in eight or nine months, he said. He cited returning veterans from the Persian Gulf War and operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Everybody tells me the Connecticut economy is in terrific shape, but we see people who are unemployed, underinsured and running out of unemployment compensation,” Dierman said. “The state has had its problems. Everyone has problems with this economy. We’re all trying to do the best with what we have.”

The fund was established with $2.4 million in state money in lieu of bonuses for returning World War I veterans. It remained at that level until 1946, when it received a half-cent from the state cigarette tax until 1962.

The fund is now valued at $59 million.

Schwartz said state officials have little authority to repeal the cuts.

“There’s absolutely nothing we can do about it except raise the issue and ask how this can happen,” she said Monday.

Cugno is also seeking legislation that would require the Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Marines’ Fund to grant the same benefits to Guard members who are called up for homeland security functions as the ones given to servicemen and service women overseas.

Cugno also is asking for a $2 million transfer from the fund to the Connecticut National Guard Foundation, which provides assistance to members of the Guard.

“It’s time for a change in the administration of the fund,” he said. “Members of the Guard deploy routinely. Since 9-11, it’s a very different world as we all know.”