NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Naomi Seligman, 310.617.4577
Prop 17 Targets Military and Veterans with Massive Surcharges
San Diego, CA – With Memorial Day in sight, Votevets.org Chairman and Iraq War veteran Jon Soltz and Assemblywoman Mary Salas, Vice Chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee, are telling Californians that Prop 17 targets the military and veterans and that voters should vote no on Prop 17.
Jon Soltz, Iraq war veteran and Chairman of VoteVets.org said today, “our nation’s military men and women, who are fighting so hard for this country, should not have to fight off insurance companies as well. Prop 17 was drafted by a greedy insurance company to target California military and veterans. We strongly oppose Prop 17 for that reason.”
Prop 17, on the June 8th ballot, penalizes soldiers and veterans, who opt to stop driving for a time, for virtually any reason, including serving on a base stateside. Soldiers and veterans would be required to pay up to a $1,000 more dollars a year for auto insurance when they sought to restart coverage.
“It’s unconscionable that insurance companies would look to profit on the back of our brave men and women who serve our country. That’s exactly what would happen if Prop 17 is passed,” said Assemblymember Mary Salas. “Insurance companies would force our military personnel to pay massive surcharges on their car insurance when they return to civilian life. That is no way to treat our heroes.”
For example:
– If a member of the military is serving stateside and decides not to bring his/her car while on base in another state, then he/she will be surcharged up to $1000 a year when they return home.
– If a veteran is having a hard time getting back on his/her feet – and misses a single payment – he/she will be surcharged up to $1000 a year when they try to buy insurance again.
Earlier this month, the San-Diego Union-Tribune urged it readers to vote no on Prop 17, because “a member of the U.S. military would not be protected from losing his or her ‘continuous coverage’ discount if transferred within the United States.”
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For more information, please visit: http://StopProp17.org or find us on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stopmercury and facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/stopprop17
