10 signatures reached
To: Pennsylvania State Senate
Tell the Pennsylvania Senate: Pass HB 1257 for Disabled Veterans
Fellow Veterans: We Carried the Burden Then. We Shouldn't Carry It Alone Now.
I am asking every disabled veteran in Pennsylvania, every military family, and every citizen who values service and sacrifice to stand together in support of House Bill 1257.
Many of us raised our right hand and swore an oath knowing there could be a cost. We accepted deployments, missed birthdays and holidays, endured long separations from our families, and faced dangers most Americans will never experience.
Some of us came home changed forever.
We carry the scars of our service every day. Some are visible. Many are not.
We live with chronic pain, damaged joints, hearing loss, traumatic injuries, and countless other service-connected disabilities. We attend appointments, take medications, and navigate a system that often requires us to repeatedly prove the sacrifices we have already made.
Yet despite all of that, many disabled veterans in Pennsylvania are still told they do not qualify for property tax relief because they are not disabled enough, because they did not serve during a qualifying wartime period, or because they earn too much money to be considered worthy of assistance.
Think about that.
A veteran can be injured while serving this nation, receive a disability rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and still be denied relief because of technicalities that have nothing to do with sacrifice.
House Bill 1257 seeks to change that.
It recognizes that service-connected disabilities are real whether a veteran is rated 50%, 70%, 90%, or 100%.
It recognizes that a veteran's sacrifice is not measured solely by whether they served during a particular conflict.
It recognizes that disabled veterans should not have to prove financial hardship before receiving recognition for the injuries they sustained while serving their country.
For many of us, our home is more than a piece of property.
It is where we rebuilt our lives after military service.
It is where we raise our children and welcome our grandchildren.
It is where we continue to fight through the challenges that service left behind.
No disabled veteran should have to worry about losing that home because the Commonwealth refuses to acknowledge the full extent of their sacrifice.
This is not about politics.
It is not about party affiliation.
It is about keeping faith with those who kept faith with their country.
The Pennsylvania House has already shown overwhelming bipartisan support for House Bill 1257.
Now the Pennsylvania Senate must act.
If you are a veteran, speak up.
If you are the spouse, child, parent, sibling, or friend of a veteran, speak up.
If you believe that those who served this nation deserve fair treatment and respect, speak up.
Contact your State Senator and State Representative today.
Tell them to support House Bill 1257.
Tell them that disabled veterans have already carried enough weight.
Tell them that the promises made to those who served should not expire when the uniform comes off.
Our generation answered the call when America needed us.
Today, Pennsylvania's disabled veterans need your voice.
Please sign this petition and help us make sure that voice is heard.
HB 1257 has been awaiting action in the Pennsylvania Senate since March 30. Without public pressure, it could quietly stall like so many other worthy bills. Sign this petition, share it with others, and if you live in Pennsylvania, contact your State Senator today. Disabled veterans answered the call when America needed them. Now they need us to answer theirs.
Why is this important?
Disabled veterans answered our nation's call without hesitation. They served, sacrificed, and returned home carrying the lasting physical and emotional effects of that service.
Yet many Pennsylvania veterans are denied property tax relief because of outdated requirements that have little to do with their sacrifice. Under current law, a veteran can be service-connected disabled, honorably discharged, and still be denied assistance because they did not serve during a qualifying wartime period, do not meet a financial-need test, or are rated below 100% disabled.
House Bill 1257 would modernize Pennsylvania's Disabled Veterans' Real Estate Tax Exemption by recognizing that service-connected disabilities affect veterans regardless of when they served or whether they meet an arbitrary income threshold. The bill would expand eligibility to veterans rated 50% or higher disabled, remove the wartime-service requirement, eliminate the financial-need requirement, and continue full relief for veterans rated 100% disabled or compensated at the 100% rate due to unemployability.
For many veterans, this is not simply about taxes. It is about keeping the home they worked hard to build after serving their country. Rising property taxes have created financial pressure for disabled veterans living on fixed incomes, and many fear being priced out of the communities they fought to protect. Veterans across Pennsylvania have described HB 1257 as a meaningful step toward ensuring that those who sacrificed for our freedoms can remain in their homes with dignity.
Pennsylvania's disabled veterans upheld their commitment to this Commonwealth and this nation. House Bill 1257 is an opportunity for Pennsylvania to uphold its commitment to them.
TAKE ACTION TODAY
TAKE ACTION TODAY
Signing this petition is the first step.
If you are a Pennsylvania resident, please take two additional minutes to contact your State Senator and ask them to support HB 1257.
Find your State Senator here:
Then send the message below:
"I am a Pennsylvania resident and I urge you to support House Bill 1257. Disabled veterans should not be denied property tax relief because of an income cap or outdated eligibility requirements. HB 1257 passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support and deserves a vote in the Senate. Please support Pennsylvania's disabled veterans and move HB 1257 forward."
One phone call or email may seem small, but when hundreds of veterans and supporters speak up together, legislators listen.