Malliotakis Leads Bipartisan Group in Calling on POTUS to Designate Kenya A Combat Zone, Lift Taxes on New York National Guardsmen
(WASHINGTON, DC) – Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (NY-21) and Congresswoman Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06) led a bipartisan letter to President Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin calling on the Administration to formally designate Kenya a combat zone to allow a group of New York National Guardsmen stationed in the region as part of Task Force Wolfhound to receive Combat Zone Tax Exclusions (CZTE).
Task Force Wolfhound is operating in the countries of Djibouti, Somalia, and Kenya. While both Djibouti and Somalia carry the Department of Defense designation as a combat zone which qualifies military personnel assigned to these countries to CZTE, Kenya does not have this designation. This means Soldiers facing the same regional threats as their peers are not eligible to receive the federal, state, or local income tax-exempt status as other members of the task force.
“For Djibouti and Somalia to be designated as combat zones, while Kenya, a nation plagued by terror attacks on behalf of the Al-Shabaab militant group is not, is placing New York’s National Guard Soldiers in harm’s way and allowing them to be taxed on the income that they receive while defending American freedom and values,” the members wrote. “The U.S. Department of State fully prohibits U.S. government employees from traveling to sections of Kenya due to the level of concern for terrorist attacks. If the United States can prohibit our government employees from traveling to these regions due to the dangers associated with the area, how is this same area not recognized as a combat zone for our military personnel?”
A prime example of the terrorist threat in the region is the January 5th, 2020,
attack at the Cooperative Security Location in Manda Bay, Kenya. According to the Department of Defense, Al-Shabaab militants conducted an attack in which “killed one U.S. Army Soldier, Specialist Henry J. Mayfield, and two U.S. contract personnel, Bruce Triplett and Dustin Harrison. The attack also wounded three additional U.S. personnel, one Kenyan soldier, and destroyed $71.5 million of U.S. government resources.”
The members concluded: “After having given so much to the United States, American service members should not have to pay the United States government for being placed in harm’s way. We urge your Administration to formally designate Kenya a combat zone to ensure our service members are eligible for the CZTE and the benefits they deserve.”
Download a copy of the letter
HERE.
Banner Image: Military members. Image Credit – Scandinavian Backlash
Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis was sworn in on January 3, 2021 to represent Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn.
Prior to serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis was elected to the New York State Assembly on November 2, 2010, defeating a two-term incumbent. In the Assembly, she served as Minority Whip and the ranking minority member of the Assembly Committee on Governmental Employees. For five terms, Congresswoman Malliotakis fought to restore ethics in Albany, expand transit service in her district, improve programs for senior citizens, reform education and improve New York’s economic climate by reducing the tax burden on small businesses and residents. A cornerstone of her tenure was helping her community recover and rebuild following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
In addition to advocating for these same issues in Washington, Congresswoman Malliotakis is acutely focused on securing New York’s fair share of federal mass transit funding, which would go towards expanding transportation services and easing traffic congestion, while also championing public safety by supporting our nation’s law enforcement officers.
Congresswoman Malliotakis is the daughter of immigrants, her father from Greece and her mother a Cuban exile of the Castro dictatorship. She is currently the only Republican member representing New York City in Congress, representing a district spanning the boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island. She is a passionate advocate for animal rights and the strengthening of animal cruelty laws, and in her spare time, enjoys spending time with her chihuahua, Peanut.
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