DENVER -
Two bills aimed at honoring members of the military who have made the ultimate sacrifice in combat, and at helping their loved ones left behind, are moving ahead at the Capitol.
The Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee voted unanimously in support of the two bills, both sponsored by Sen. John Morse, D- Colorado Springs. Senate Bill 1054 proposes giving unemployment benefits to the spouses of those active-duty military who are killed in combat; while Senate Bil 1058 would allow military members and veterans to give military funerals and burials for unclaimed or abandoned military remains.
" Colorado is home to a lot of major military installations," Morse said. "As a state, we derive huge economic benefits from those installations and many companies locate here just to be close to their military contracts. Providing these benefits seems like the least we can do as a state."
Testimony before the committee was brief but powerful.
"I am a Gold Star Father. My son was killed in Iraq two years ago tomorrow," said John Harris. "I know what my daughter in law went through. And it was hard. It was hard for me. I handled the funeral and the remains, but she had to deal with everything else, and she had to take time away from work. You spend a month away from you job, there's nobody who's going to keep you."
Amber Nicodemus calls herself "another kind of widow." Her husband came home from Iraq, but after suffering severe and life-altering injuries.
"Seeing somebody that you knew and are in love with, to come home and not be that person any more, it's very difficult to watch," Nicodemus said. "It's very difficult to live with."
Nicodemus said that she's essentially become a single parent, having to care for her children, not to mention her husband.
"It means taking time off of work, driving long distances to my husband's doctor's appointments," she said. "It's really hard. And it also becomes really hard making ends meet."
Because her husband is alive, Nicodemus wouldn't qualify for unemployment benefits under Morse's bill. But she knows how much it would help her friends whose husbands were killed in combat.
"It's only for those that have held employment and need to quit, so overall I think the economic impact is minimal," she said. "I think it's the least we can do to support those that are having to go through a very difficult time."
Also testifying, members of the Freedom Guard Riders, a group of former Marines and soldiers who have taken it upon themselves to honor the fallen by attending their funerals and standing at attention during the procession.
They're hoping that SB 1058 will soon allow them to make funeral and burial arrangements for those members of the military have never been claimed.
"This bill is about unclaimed heroes," said Steve Hosey, a former Marine and Freedom Guard Rider. "To give our veterans, some which have sat on a shelf for hundreds of years, their full military honors and due respect."
The Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee voted unanimously in support of the two bills, both sponsored by Sen. John Morse, D- Colorado Springs. Senate Bill 1054 proposes giving unemployment benefits to the spouses of those active-duty military who are killed in combat; while Senate Bil 1058 would allow military members and veterans to give military funerals and burials for unclaimed or abandoned military remains.
" Colorado is home to a lot of major military installations," Morse said. "As a state, we derive huge economic benefits from those installations and many companies locate here just to be close to their military contracts. Providing these benefits seems like the least we can do as a state."
Testimony before the committee was brief but powerful.
"I am a Gold Star Father. My son was killed in Iraq two years ago tomorrow," said John Harris. "I know what my daughter in law went through. And it was hard. It was hard for me. I handled the funeral and the remains, but she had to deal with everything else, and she had to take time away from work. You spend a month away from you job, there's nobody who's going to keep you."
Amber Nicodemus calls herself "another kind of widow." Her husband came home from Iraq, but after suffering severe and life-altering injuries.
"Seeing somebody that you knew and are in love with, to come home and not be that person any more, it's very difficult to watch," Nicodemus said. "It's very difficult to live with."
Nicodemus said that she's essentially become a single parent, having to care for her children, not to mention her husband.
"It means taking time off of work, driving long distances to my husband's doctor's appointments," she said. "It's really hard. And it also becomes really hard making ends meet."
Because her husband is alive, Nicodemus wouldn't qualify for unemployment benefits under Morse's bill. But she knows how much it would help her friends whose husbands were killed in combat.
"It's only for those that have held employment and need to quit, so overall I think the economic impact is minimal," she said. "I think it's the least we can do to support those that are having to go through a very difficult time."
Also testifying, members of the Freedom Guard Riders, a group of former Marines and soldiers who have taken it upon themselves to honor the fallen by attending their funerals and standing at attention during the procession.
They're hoping that SB 1058 will soon allow them to make funeral and burial arrangements for those members of the military have never been claimed.
"This bill is about unclaimed heroes," said Steve Hosey, a former Marine and Freedom Guard Rider. "To give our veterans, some which have sat on a shelf for hundreds of years, their full military honors and due respect."
