A bill to support Gold Star Families unanimously passed the House Tuesday, February 25th. The bipartisan legislation was led by Democratic Congresswoman Cheri Bustos and Republican Congressman Brad Wenstrup of Ohio. The legislation extends protections to dependents of fallen and injured service members. By extending leasing protections, dependents of fallen servicemen and women are allowed to terminate property leases and automobile leases without penalty. The measure was introduced by Bustos after meeting with Kylie Riney of Farmington. Kylie is the wife of Sgt. Douglas Riney who died while serving in Kabul, Afghanistan. She wasn’t able to terminate a lease in Fort Hood, Texas and return to Illinois after her husband’s death due to a property lease agreement. Bustos also had legislation passed in 2018 to rename the Fairview, Illinois post office after Sgt. Douglas Riney.
