Oregon War Veterans Blog

Oregon War Veterans Association Opposes Measure 50

Oregon War Veterans Association announced today it will actively oppose Measure 50, urging not only its members, but all Oregonians, to vote against the new tax on tobacco.  Measure 50 would place the new tax within the Oregon Constitution in order to fund a new government-run healthcare program for children.  Similar tobacco tax increases in other states have failed to produce anticipated revenue, raising a red flag for Oregon taxpayers and economists.  Oregon War Veterans Association is the latest group to oppose the measure because it risks the financial future of the state—and because it threatens other programs, including veterans’ benefits.

“Our opposition to Measure 50 isn’t about children, healthcare, or smoking,” said OWVA President Greg Warnock.  “It is about an unsustainable source of income for an impractical program—when Measure 50 fails to produce the desired income, where will the money come from?”  Warnock cautioned that when the tobacco tax fails to provide the necessary income to sustain the program, “the Legislative Assembly, in an effort to keep the program afloat, will be forced to raise all our taxes and make cuts elsewhere—cuts in programs for veterans, as well as for seniors and disabled, even things like schools and the state police might see their budgets cut in order to keep up this ill-conceived, unsustainable program.”

There are two primary reasons economists fear the tax increase will fail to produce desired revenue: higher costs for tobacco will result in reduced consumption, and a growing number of tobacco users will purchase their products from out of state in order to avoid taxes.  A large-scale ban on smoking in the workplace passed by the Oregon Legislative Assembly earlier this year could also have a large negative impact on tobacco tax revenue.  Finally, more and more smokers are breaking the habit for health reasons, meaning fewer and fewer people will be paying the tobacco tax, regardless of the dollar amount.

“The Legislative Assembly knew this tobacco tax scheme was a bad idea; that’s why they wouldn’t pass the tax increase during this past session,” stated Warnock.  “Now they have made an end-run around the normal legislative process by putting this ill-conceived plan before voters as a Constitutional Amendment.”

Oregon War Veterans Association urges you to vote NO on Measure 50.(for a .pdf version of this release, please click here)

Governor Signs House Bill 3201

Oregon War Veterans Association today applauded Governor Kulongoski’s signing of Oregon House Bill 3201, an omnibus tax bill that includes multiple provisions to benefit veterans and their families.  The bill is the result of a session-long effort by Oregon War Veterans Association and the Oregon Legislature to provide important benefits to military members, veterans, and their families.

“This success marks the achievement of our number one objective this session,” said Greg Warnock, the Executive Director of Oregon War Veterans Association.  “One of the most critical needs for our veterans and their families is access to health care.  Those living in rural communities often have no local healthcare providers who will work with TRICARE.  These new incentives will help encourage more healthcare providers, especially in rural areas, to serve our veterans.”

House Bill 3201 directs the Office of Rural Health to establish a program to provide tax incentives for healthcare providers to enter the TRICARE system by providing a one-time tax credit of $2,500 for participation and an additional annual credit of $1,000 for treating TRICARE patients.  The legislation also gives healthcare providers tax free income in Oregon from their first 24 months of TRICARE revenues.

House Bill 3201 contains another important provision for veterans and their families: it raises the current deduction for military pay from $3,000 to $6,000, adjusting an index that has remained unchanged, despite inflation, for over 30 years.  “This is the kind of economic reform that helps our military members and their families where they need it most,” Warnock said.  “For many of our part-time citizen-soldiers, this revision will make nearly all income earned for service in the National Guard free from taxation in Oregon.”

The bill also gives a $6,000.00 tax benefit to the employees of the Oregon Youth Challenge Program, an alternative school for at-risk youth run through the Oregon Military Department, to the list of those eligible for this deduction.  This new tax incentive benefits not only military members, but also the children participating in the program.  The Deputy Director of the Oregon Military Department, Brigadier General Mike Caldwell, noted that “eighty-two percent of graduates of the Oregon Youth Challenge Program are still successful five years after graduating from the program.”  He went on to proclaim “Oregon War Veterans Associations leaders took it upon themselves to write and lobby support for the tax and health care benefits found in HB 3201.  Their hard work will positively impact all of our National Guard families, and we are happy to have had their assistance.”

Oregon War Veterans Association, a charitable organization founded by veterans for veterans, works aggressively to help veterans and their families, as well as members of the Oregon National Guard, get the respect and benefits they deserve for serving their country.

More can be learned about the Oregon War Veterans Association on their website and their new blog.

House Bill 3201 passes!

Oregon War Veterans Association today applauded the passage of Oregon House Bill 3201, an omnibus tax bill that includes multiple provisions to benefit veterans and their families.  The most significant provision is a tax incentive package to encourage more healthcare providers to enter the TRICARE system. TRICARE is the U.S. Department of Defense healthcare entitlement for active duty and retired members of the military, their families and survivors.

“This success marks the achievement of our number one objective this session,” said Greg Warnock, the Executive Director of Oregon War Veterans Association.  “One of the most critical needs for our veterans and their families is access to health care.  Those living in rural communities often have no local healthcare providers who will work with TRICARE.  These new incentives will help encourage more healthcare providers, especially in rural areas, to serve our veterans.”

House Bill 3201 directs the Office of Rural Health to establish a program to provide tax incentives for healthcare providers to enter the TRICARE system by providing a one-time tax credit of $2,500 for participation and an additional annual credit of $1,000 for treating TRICARE patients.  The legislation also gives healthcare providers tax free income in Oregon from their first 24 months of TRICARE revenues.

“We want to help TriWest with its goal to bring 2,000 more healthcare providers into the system,” Warnock stated, referring to TriWest Healthcare Alliance.  TriWest is a contractor to the Department of Defense that administers the TRICARE program in the 21-state western region, including Oregon.  “House Bill 3201, combined with other legislation passed this session, will assist TriWest in meeting this objective.”

House Bill 3201 contains other important provisions for veterans and their families.  It creates a tax credit for doctors who provide treatment to residents of an Oregon veterans’ home.  Furthermore, it raises the current deduction for military pay from $3,000 to $6,000, adjusting an index that has remained unchanged, despite inflation, for over 30 years.  It also adds staff of Oregon Youth Challenge, an alternative school for at-risk youth run through the Oregon Military Department, to the list of those eligible for this deduction.  The bill also includes numerous other tax provisions unrelated to veterans, such as business energy taxes and incentives to lure industry into Oregon.

House Bill 3201 was sponsored by Oregon State Representative Donna Nelson (R-McMinnville) on behalf of Oregon War Veterans Association.  It originally consisted of a single provision, but towards the end of the legislative session, it became the omnibus tax bill of the year through a series of amendments.  These amendments incorporated the pro-veteran contents of House Bill 2400, House Bill 3197, and House Bill 3202 into a single bill, combined with many other unrelated provisions.  David Gulliver, the chief of staff for Representative Nelson, explained:

“It is usually easier to pass a tax bill that offers several provisions, so that many legislators with different priorities can get behind it.  Our office sponsored several tax bills for Oregon War Veterans Association, because we believe veterans’ issues are so important—especially with so many current members of the Oregon National Guard being called to serve their country.  When it became clear that some of these bills wouldn’t pass on their own, we worked with the chair of the House Revenue Committee, Phil Barnhart (D-Eugene), to amend one bill to include many provisions.  Thus, the omnibus bill was born.”

Greg Warnock expressed his pleasure that the bill passed, but also his frustration that the separate components of the bill would not have passed individually.  “Veterans’ issues are important enough to stand on their own,” Warnock stated.  “But the history behind House Bill 3201 shows that we still have a lot more work ahead of us in convincing politicians how critical veterans’ needs truly are.”

House Concurrent Resolution 5 Passes!

The Oregon Senate today unanimously passed House Concurrent Resolution 5, recognizing the contributions of healthcare providers who work in support of TRICARE, the U.S. Department of Defense healthcare entitlement for active duty and retired members of the military, their families and survivors.  The resolution commends the spirit of patriotism and sacrifice shown by healthcare providers in ensuring that military personnel and their families receive needed medical care during the War on Terror, and recognizes the 7,500 Oregon providers who work within the TRICARE system.  Oregon War Veterans Association, the fastest growing veterans group in the state, has been supporting the passage of the resolution.

Greg Warnock, the President of Oregon War Veterans Association, expressed his gratitude to the Legislative Assembly.  “This is a positive step forward in the battle to provide necessary care to our veterans,” Warnock said.  “Of particular interest is the resolution’s statement encouraging additional healthcare providers to join the TRICARE system.”  It is estimated that roughly half of the healthcare providers in Oregon currently accept TRICARE, with an even lower percentage in rural areas, leaving many veterans in smaller communities without access to the healthcare they earned through service.

“I’d love to see us meet TriWest’s goal of an additional 2,000 healthcare providers in Oregon,” Warnock stated, referring to TriWest Healthcare Alliance.  TriWest is a contractor to the Department of Defense that administers the TRICARE program in the 21-state western region, including Oregon.  House Concurrent Resolution 5 was introduced at the request of TriWest Healthcare Alliance.  “I have the utmost respect for TriWest, and am honored to be able to support this resolution on TriWest’s – and our veterans’ – behalf.”

Robin Brown, a member of the board of Oregon War Veterans Association, added: “We have been working hard this session to move forward with a number of bills to help provide more and better access to healthcare for our troops.  House Concurrent Resolution 5 is just one part of the overall package; its passage today is a positive sign of things to come as the session continues.”

House Concurrent Resolution 5 previously passed the Oregon House of Representatives on March 26.  Having now passed both chambers, it will be filed with the Secretary of State and be enrolled as an official Resolution of the Legislative Assembly.