WASHINGTON, D.C. – In advance of Armed Forces Day, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, today introduced legislation that would expand federal hiring preferences to include fathers of service members who have been killed in action or permanently and totally disabled. The Gold Star Fathers Act of 2014 would extend hiring preferences currently available only to gold star mothers and spouses.

“The loss of a loved one is never easy,” Brown said. “I would like to thank both Scott and Melissa Warner of Canton for their sacrifice and for advocacy on behalf of other gold star families. By extending federal preference eligibility to fathers, we are righting a wrong that should have been corrected many years ago.”

Brown’s legislation is the result of efforts by Canton resident and gold star father, Scott Warner. Warner’s son Heath was killed in action in Iraq in November 2006 during his deployment as a U.S. Marine. Following the death of his son, Warner became involved with a local gold star family support group. At a community meeting in Canton, Warner presented his experiences to a representative from Brown’s office.

Currently, gold star mothers and unmarried widows and widowers receive a ten point hiring preference for federal employment, similar to the federal hiring preferences given to veterans. The Gold Star Fathers Act of 2014 amends federal code to enable fathers of deceased or permanently and totally disabled service members to receive the same hiring preferences as mothers, widows, and widowers.

“I am pleased to be working with Senator Brown in establishing legislation that tangibly recognizes the Gold Star Fathers across the United States,” Scott Warner said. “The pain and heartache that each bereaved father embraces makes moving forward in life challenging. By providing the same hiring preference benefits that Gold Star mothers receive under civil service guidelines, our country is creating new opportunities for the families that have sacrificed so much for freedom.”

As the only Ohio Senator to serve a full term on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Brown is an advocate for Ohio’s veterans and families. Brown has held more than 200 roundtables throughout the state and in 2012 held a Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Field Hearing in Columbus.

 

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