Res. No. 56
Resolution calling on the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles to insert a question on the driver's license application that inquires about veteran status, in an effort to obtain an accurate count of veterans in the State.
By Council Members Mark-Viverito, Chin, Dromm, Ferreras, James, Williams, Rodriguez, Nelson and Eugene
Whereas, The Mayor's Office of Veterans Affairs (MOVA) currently states that there are approximately 240,000 veterans living in New York City; and
Whereas, The New York State Division of Veterans Affairs also calculates roughly 240,000 veterans residing in New York City; and
Whereas, MOVA asserts that it receives such veteran status data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA); and
Whereas, The VA uses the most recent census to approximate yearly increases or decreases in the total veteran population of every county in the United States; and
Whereas, The most recent population data used by the VA is from the 2000 census; and
Whereas, Having taken place prior to the events of September 11th, 2001, the 2000 census does not take into account the enormous gains nationwide to the military in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attack; and
Whereas, The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) states that recruitment shortly following the attack was at an all-time high; and
Whereas, The DOD also affirms that recruitment stayed consistently high in all branches of the armed forces for at least five years following September 11th, 2001; and
Whereas, Nearly 2 million combined service members have served in either Iraq or Afghanistan, two large-scale military operations that resulted from the occurrences of September 11th, 2001; and
Whereas, In addition to these 2 million service members, countless more who joined the military after September 11th, 2001, and have been supporting these two operations from afar, are also contributing to the veteran population; and
Whereas, The 2000 census could not have predicted these unexpected and long-term gains, nor anticipated that two simultaneous wars would be waged for nearly 7 consecutive years; and
Whereas, The method used by the VA also does not take into account of veterans who have moved from one county to another after the 2000 census, or those who have passed away or who became veterans after the census was completed, thereby creating an unreliable estimate; and
Whereas, As a result, the State and City of New York do not currently possess an accurate count of the number of veterans residing within their jurisdictions; and
Whereas, To resolve this problem, states such as Nevada have included an option on driver's license applications to determine an applicant's veteran status; and
Whereas, The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles currently asks veterans to file a Declaration of Veterans Status at the time they apply for a driver's license, which is used only to help the Nevada Office of Veterans Services track the number of veterans in the state; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles to insert a question on the driver's license application that inquires about veteran status, in an effort to obtain an accurate count of veterans in the State.
AC
LS#7713
2/22/10