Jeremiah Smith: “there is no more noble calling than for those who choose to put their lives on the line every day to serve and protect…”

“there is no more noble calling than for those who choose to put their lives on the line every day to serve and protect our families. On November 29, 1989, about 12 years ago, New Hampshire State Trooper Gary P. Parker from Wolfeboro, NH, was tragically killed in the line of duty. He left behind his wife Amy, a 16-month-old son Gregory, and a daughter Lindsay, who was to be born just 10 weeks after Trooper Parker lost his life. Amy Parker is now alone with her grief and was faced with raising both her son and daughter alone, something that I can certainly understand since my father died in the Second World War when I was 3. I was raised by my mother, with my brother, without a dad. But, fortunately, because her husband had prepared for the unthinkable, both children were left with a small survivor benefit pension. Believe it or not, they were forced to hand over a large portion of those benefits in taxes to the Federal Government, leaving the family very little on which to live. In 1996, Congress recognized the unfairness of this provision and rightly corrected the oversight. However, the correction only applied to those who died after 1997, leaving all of those families who were currently living with the grief and hardship of a tragic death with that additional burden still there. This amendment that I am offering, amendment No. 680, is a very simple amendment. I hope I will have the support of my colleagues.…”