Happy Memorial Day Everyone,
I hope all of you are able to enjoy this long weekend with friends and family. While we enjoy cookouts and pool days, it’s important to remember the sacrifices of members of our armed forces that allow us to enjoy such freedoms. As a Veteran myself, this holiday holds a particular place in my heart. Thank you to all members of the military—active, retired, and those no longer with us. May God bless America and please be safe this weekend.
This week marked debate week in the Senate for the FY2023 budget. So, we have been busy over here in the legislature. I was able to secure a lot of funding for various projects in our district, including initiatives related to Veterans. One example is $70,000 that will be included for the Agawam Veterans Memorial Cemetery. This funding will allow the cemetery to better aide in the administration of the site and to support the families of Veterans who are laying their loved ones to rest.
Another focus of mine in the budget has always been on substance use and the opioid epidemic. I am extremely proud that in this year’s budget I was able to secure $50,000 for Tapestry Health. This funding will allow them to purchase a mass spectrometer device which would be able to test street drugs for fentanyl. The tainting of this drug is one of the leading causes of overdoses and fentanyl can even kill police who are simply handling the drug for confiscation purposes. This new mass spectrometer has been proven to lower overdose rates and in the war on opioid addiction, there’s no single weapon we leave out of our arsenal. Thank you to those as Tapestry for all the work they do in making our community a safer place.
Our local schools are always a priority for me in the budget as well, and a number of my successful amendments were for improvements and upgrades at schools across our district, including $1,000,000 in funding for Westfield High to help improve their infrastructure and buildings.
Another of my successful Veteran budget amendments focused on correcting an injustice from last decade. With the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 2011, there were many service members who were dishonorably discharged and left without benefits. My amendment would allow for LGBTQ service members who were wrongfully discharged during this era to reclaim their rightful state benefits for them and their families. This Memorial Day we remember ALL service members.
Keep your eye out for more news about the budget and funding that my team secured for our district. As always, if there is anything I can do to assist you, please never hesitate to reach out to my office. I can be reached at my email: john.velis@masenate.gov or by phone: (413) 572-3920 and you can find me online at senatorjohnvelis.com where you can also sign up for my newsletter!
Sincerely,
John Velis