Issue Position: A Voice for Veterans

Issue Position

Tom was inspired to run for office when he saw that his battle buddies were struggling to find opportunities after returning back home. At the time Michigan had the second highest veteran unemployment rate in the nation. When Tom was elected in 2014, he became the only Iraq War veteran in the Michigan House of Representatives. He was appointed as Chairman of the Military and Veterans Affairs committee, a rare opportunity for a freshman legislator.
Tom has upheld his commitment to veterans by sponsoring six veteran bills in his first term that were signed into law.

These bills help veterans by:

Adding protections from discrimination for veterans who have a service dog that assists them in managing their invisible wounds like post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries.

Allowing veterans to count their relevant military experience from active duty toward their civilian skilled trade license requirements.

Protecting parental rights of deployed service members.

Amending Michigan's patchwork of different definitions for how we define who is a veteran. Different statutes defined veteran status differently which left out certain types of service.

Sponsoring a resolution each year in June to commemorate post-traumatic stress awareness day in Michigan.

Tom currently has legislation pending that would allow deployed service members to return their ballots electronically if their ballot would not return home in time to be counted on election day.

In addition to these priorities, Tom has been a leader in driving reforms at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans after a state audit exposed abuse, neglect, chronic understaffing, and fraud. Tom insisted in taking his committee to the home to conduct an open hearing, something that had never been done before, to hear directly from the veterans at the home. Leadership at the home was replaced, a new staffing agency was hired, an independent ombudsman was created and Tom secured additional funding for the home in the state budget. After these reforms were adopted the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs conducted a follow up review in May of 2017 and determined that over 99% of requirements were successfully met.

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