Ohio House Republicans last week moved to block a bond-financed bill that would offer bonuses to veterans of recent wars, saying they were in favor of the measure but opposed to financing it through borrowing.
The move comes after the Republican-controlled Senate unanimously approved the legislation, which would offer bonuses of up to $1,000 for veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan and up to $700 for those who served in the Persian Gulf War. A Senate resolution would also offer up to $5,500 to the family of a service member killed in duty in any of those recent wars.
At issue for House Republicans is how the bill would be funded. Under the current proposal, favored by Democrats, the state would sell $200 million in general obligation bonds. Voters would need to approve the borrowing.
GOP House Speaker Jon Husted said that plan is akin to “running up a credit card” and that the measure should be financed through current revenue or the state’s rainy-day fund.
Last Friday, four House Democrats joined Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray — who is running for attorney general — in calling for passage of the bill, which would put the bond proposal on the November ballot.
Cordray said that four times in the past the state has funded service bonuses by selling bonds. “It is a way to spread the cost over time, rather than taking the hit to the budget this year when it’s a tough time for the budget,” he was quoted as saying in local press reports.
Though Husted failed to call the bill last week, he said he would move the bill in November with a different source of financing.
Cordray is running against Republican Mike Crites, an attorney with the Columbus-based law firm Rich, Crites & Dittmer LLC.
