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In this Update:

• September 22: Veteran Service Officer Day
• State Budget Supports Veterans and Their Families
• New Law Connects Families of Deceased Services Members with Support
• Honoring Veterans with Visual Impairments with a Capitol Monument
• Addressing Veteran Homelessness
• PA Guard Military Family Education Program
• National Parks Military Lifetime Pass
• Free Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses for Blind Veterans
• No-Cost TSA Precheck for Eligible Veterans

September 22: Veteran Service Officer Day

My office hosts monthly Veteran Service Officer Days to help veterans and their loved ones navigate and apply for benefits earned through military service.

Our next scheduled date is Tuesday, September 22, in my Mahanoy City Office. For an appointment, please call (570) 773-0891.

State Budget Supports Veterans and Their Families

On July 12, we finalized the 2026-27 state budget that included creating and enhancing programs and services aimed at assisting Pennsylvania veterans and their families such as: 

• Providing a 6.3% increase for tuition assistance to children of honorably discharged veterans who have service-connected disabilities and served during a period of war or armed conflict and children of veterans who die or died in service during a period of war or armed conflict.
• Providing a 10.2% increase for the Amputee and Paralyzed Veterans’ Pension, which gives eligible veterans a $150 monthly pension.
• Establishing the Veterans’ Trust Fund Board within the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to increase donations to the Veterans’ Trust Fund and provide effective management of the fund.
• Requiring the Department of Human Services to expand online referral services and information for military veterans and their families for transitional, temporary and permanent housing, job placement and career counseling and other services for veterans returning to civilian life. 

New Law Connects Families of Deceased Services Members with Support

To better connect families with their local veterans’ affairs office, the General Assembly unanimously passed Senate Bill 130, now Act 42 of 2026, which requires funeral directors and cemeteries to provide the family of a deceased serviceperson contact information for the county director of veterans’ affairs. They must also notify the county director of veterans’ affairs of the death of a service person within 96 hours of receiving their remains.

Pennsylvania county veteran’s affairs offices are available to better assist veterans with access to benefits for which they might be eligible, and their contact information can be found here. 

Honoring Veterans with Visual Impairments with a Capitol Monument

A Braille Flag monument honoring veterans with visual impairments could be installed at the Pennsylvania Capitol Building under legislation passed by the Senate and sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.

The Braille Flag was created to honor the service of veterans who have been left with life-long visual disabilities. Under Senate Bill 1303, the monument would be made of bronze and include the Pledge of Allegiance in Braille.

The display would be sponsored by the Moose Lodge and the American Braille Flag Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to the placement of these flags throughout the country. Read more about Senate Bill 1303 here.

Addressing Veteran Homelessness

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Homeless Aging and Disabled Veterans Initiative aims to help homeless veterans with chronic, complex health needs secure affordable housing within their communities or transition more easily to any higher levels of care they need. The initiative works to better integrate home and community healthcare, social services and permanent supportive housing.

Veterans experiencing homelessness should visit their local VA Medical Center for assistance. To find a VA Medical Center near you, visit their website here. For immediate assistance, contact the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at (877) 4AID-VET (877-424-3838).

To learn more about VA Homeless Programs, click here.

PA Guard Military Family Education Program

As students begin preparing for the fall semester, Pennsylvania National Guard members are reminded their families could be eligible for assistance to offset the cost of higher education.

The Military Family Education Program is for Guard members who completed an initial service obligation on or after July 1, 2019, and are eligible to re-enlist in the PA National Guard for a period of six years.

The grants can be used for a degree-granting or certificate-granting curriculum, course of study, or training program required for entrance into a specific career at an approved Pennsylvania institution of higher learning. Read more details and find applications here.

National Parks Military Lifetime Pass

Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces and members of Gold Star Families are eligible for a free Military Lifetime Pass at national parks, which will admit the passholder and accompanying passengers in a non-commercial vehicle at per vehicle fee areas, or the passholder and up to three additional people over the age of 16 where per person fees are charged.

Passes cover entrance and day-use fees at lands managed by the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

To request a free digital pass, click here. To request a physical pass, which requires a $12.50 shipping and handling fee, click here.

Free Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses for Blind Veterans

Meta is donating free Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses to every blind veteran in the U.S.

Veterans can apply after becoming a Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) member. Veteran organizations can apply to receive glasses for the blinded veterans in their communities here.

No-Cost TSA Precheck for Eligible Veterans

The VETS (Veterans Expedited TSA Screening) Safe Travel Act was signed into law, allowing certain veterans to receive no-cost TSA PreCheck enrollment. TSA PreCheck provides an expedited airport screening process with a more secure and streamlined security screening experience.

Eligible veterans for the TSA PreCheck enrollment fee waiver must be enrolled in VA healthcare and have a VA-determined service-connected disability which requires the use of a VA-issued wheelchair or prosthetic limb due to loss or loss of use of an extremity, full or partial paralysis or permanent blindness.

A TSA PreCheck enrollment letter was sent to eligible veterans and can be accessed online through their VA account.