Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Plattsburgh) announced that he helped pass the 2021-22 state budget, which includes funding that he secured for the North Country Veterans Association (NCVA) and other essential programs and services for local veterans.

“Despite the fiscal challenges facing our state, I fought to ensure the state budget continued and expanded support for New York veterans and advocacy organizations,” Jones said. “Services like the North Country Veterans Association are helping veterans receive the support they need at a time when fundraising is low, so this is a big win locally. I’m glad the Assembly recognized this need and included North Country veterans in the budget.”

“On behalf of the men and women of the NCVA, we thank Assemblyman Jones for his continued support of our efforts to offer assistance and support to the veterans and their families,” said Ken Hynes, Secretary/Trustee of the NCVA. “We look forward to continuing to work with him on this project to help enhance services for veterans across the North Country.” 

The 2021-22 state budget provides $100,000 for the North Country Veterans Association (NCVA) so they can continue to provide services to veterans and their families in Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties. The budget also:

• provides $5 million to expand the Joseph P. Dwyer Veterans Peer Support Project, which is a peer-to-peer program for veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and other mental and behavioral issues;
• reestablishes the state Division of Veterans’ Services existing call-in line to connect veterans directly to Veterans Benefit Advisors;
• extends tuition benefits for eligible members of New York State’s military forces to attend college in New York State for five years; and
• extends the Hire-a-Vet tax credit, which offers a tax credit for employers who hire veterans, for two additional years.