Bill would provide free postage for military families

Albany — A proposed new law would provide vouchers for families of servicemembers deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan to cover the cost of shipping a package of up to 10 pounds or a letter up to 13 ounces. The funds for the vouchers, which would be provided every two months, would be transferred from the Department of Defense. The legislation was originally introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Vito Fossella. “Care packages are so important to our troops but they are also important to the friends, family members and loved ones who send them,” said New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is sponsoring the law. Military families spend thousands of dollars annually to ship packages to their deployed loved ones, which contain basic goods like hygiene supplies and phone cards. The bill would also provide vouchers to the families of service members who are hospitalized as a result of their service in Iraq or Afghanistan. Specifically, the legislation would: • Require the Secretary of Defense to work with the U.S. Postal Service to establish a program under which each service member deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan — or hospitalized at a Department of Defense facility as a result of service in Iraq or Afghanistan — would receive one voucher every two months that would enable his or her family or friends to send the service member one free package or piece of mail (up to ten pounds). • Authorize $10 million in 2008 for the Department of Defense to implement such a program.