TANNER CO-SPONSORS BILL TO ALLOW FREE
POSTAGE FROM FAMILIES TO DEPLOYED TROOPS

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. John Tanner is co-sponsor of “The Home Front to Heroes Postal Benefits Act” to allow military families and charitable organizations to mail letters and packages for free to men and women serving in the Armed Forces.

“Military families in Tennessee and across the country are making great sacrifices in service to the Armed Forces,” Congressman Tanner said. “We want to give them every opportunity to communicate easily with their loved ones while they are deployed.”

“The Home Front to Heroes Postal Benefits Act” (H.R. 707) will give members of the Armed Forces serving in combat operations a free monthly postal benefit they can transfer to their loved ones, who can then send a letter or package at no cost. Members of the Armed Forces could also donate their vouchers to charitable organizations, such as those that send care packages to servicemembers.

The bipartisan legislation has been endorsed by, among other groups, National Association for Uniformed Services, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Naval Reserve Association, American Military Retirees Association, Military Order of World Wars, American WWII Orphans Network and The Retired Enlisted Association.

Tanner, a veteran of the U.S. Navy and the Tennessee Army National Guard, represents Tennessee’s 8^th Congressional district in West and Middle Tennessee. A founding member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, he serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, where he chairs the Subcommittee on Social Security. Tanner also serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and as President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

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Contact: Randy Ford, 202.225.4714