daveman
Diamond Member
ALBANY— Democrats set aside $27 million in tuition assistance for the children of undocumented immigrants in the new state budget — but wouldn’t add hundreds of thousands of dollars to expand a similar program for kids of deceased and disabled veterans.
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Assemblywoman Deborah Glick (D-Manhattan), who chairs the committee, said budget constraints weighed against the program expansion, which she estimated would have cost several hundred thousand dollars.
“We will make every effort to ensure going forward, we have some additional resources allocated to the program so that as an entitlement, it is not falling short of the needs of our military families,” she said.
But State Sen. Robert Ortt (R-Niagara), a sponsor of the measure, said the Assembly’s failure to act sends a distressing signal to military families.
“Assemblywoman Glick should be ashamed of herself,” said Ortt. “We set aside $27 million dollars for college for people that are here illegally… Apparently $2.7 million is all that the families of soldiers who are killed, get. If you’re a child of a fallen solider, you do not rank as high and you know that by the money.”
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Assemblywoman Deborah Glick (D-Manhattan), who chairs the committee, said budget constraints weighed against the program expansion, which she estimated would have cost several hundred thousand dollars.
“We will make every effort to ensure going forward, we have some additional resources allocated to the program so that as an entitlement, it is not falling short of the needs of our military families,” she said.
But State Sen. Robert Ortt (R-Niagara), a sponsor of the measure, said the Assembly’s failure to act sends a distressing signal to military families.
“Assemblywoman Glick should be ashamed of herself,” said Ortt. “We set aside $27 million dollars for college for people that are here illegally… Apparently $2.7 million is all that the families of soldiers who are killed, get. If you’re a child of a fallen solider, you do not rank as high and you know that by the money.”