United States Representative Gus Bilirakis has scored a win on Capitol Hill as he was able to pass a proposal to help disabled veterans have more travel options. Under the Space-Available (Space A) program, Armed Forces personnel that are retired would be able to travel on military planes if there is extra space on flights.
When the proposal was unveiled, Bilirakis’ office commented that “Disabled veterans who have a service-connected permanent disability rated as 100 percent cannot travel on military flights unless they are military retirees. This bill would authorize veterans who have a service-connected, permanent disability rated as 100 percent to travel on Space-A at no additional cost to the Department of Defense and without aircraft modifications.”
When introducing the bill, Representative Bilirakis also explained that “I’m proud we have worked together on this legislation to help our true American heroes. Our veterans have bravely served our country, and this is a common sense bill to help us further honor the sacrifices of 100 percent service-disabled veterans. It would allow these heroes to be eligible for the Space-Available program at no additional cost to the Department of Defense. The Space-A program allows active duty service members, their families, retirees, and certain others to fill empty seats on DOD flights. While active duty members and their families will remain the primary beneficiaries of this program in order to assist them in their service, our bill will extend this benefit to our disabled veterans. I’m honored to continue my work to support all our nation’s heroes.”