Military, law enforcement families to protest at Virginia Capitol to protect education benefits
Tanya Barrett, widow of trooper Mark Barrett, on her family's fight to preserve education benefits for families who have lost military or law enforcement members after the Democratic-led State Senate left it on the floor.
The families of American heroes have been left devastated by recent changes that will impose tighter restrictions on education benefits for participants receiving tuition waivers from the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program.
Tanya Barrett's son was six years old when her husband, Mark, lost his life in the line of duty as a state trooper. Now a student at the University of Virginia, expectations of his tuition being fully covered under the state statute could be sidelined.
"When my husband died in 2010, the state of Virginia had a statute in place that says if you die in the line of duty while serving the state, you would get education taken care of. For us, it was just the tuition piece. It wasn't anything else," she told "Fox & Friends First" on Thursday.
The Virginia Capitol is seen on March 4, 2010, in Richmond, Virginia. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
"My son was six at the time, and he's grown up and going through high school, and we literally planned our life around him going to a state-supported school in Virginia. He's now at University of Virginia. It's great for him. [But] he's grandfathered in one more year, and it could be taken away after that."
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin and lawmakers "made changes to eligibility for the program in the two-year budget set to take effect on July 1," according to local reporting. After hearing from families who will be affected by the changes, Youngkin asked lawmakers to tweak parts of the bill that prevented some families from participating in the program.
The Democratic-controlled state Senate declined to take up the bill to exempt some families from the changes, however, leaving Youngkin "stunned."
TRIAL UNDERWAY FOR MILITARY FAMILIES SUING US GOVERNMENT OVER TAINTED WATER AT HAWAII BASE
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks during the Faith & Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority Policy Conference at the Washington Hilton on June 22, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
In response to the news, he wrote the following on X: "I stand with our military heroes, first responders and their families today who are stunned that Senate Democrat leadership failed to even consider a simple bill, supported by a bipartisan majority of Senators, to reverse the changes to VMSDEP."
"There is a senator in Virginia that is holding this bill up," Barrett said, likely referring to Democratic Sen. Louise Lucas. "I think it was discussed [in the Senate] Monday, and it was held up. On Friday, it should go to the House. It should be a no-brainer. The bill will pass. It still has to go back to the Senate then."
As for her son, Barrett said he has already applied for scholarships outside of the program, and they will take hurdles as they come.
"I've told him that we'll do what we've always done. We'll do what we've done since 2010. We'll figure it out," she said.
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