July 25, 2007

Board of Veterans Affairs Calls on Budget Conference Committee to Properly Address Wisconsin Vets Needs

(MADISON) – In a letter sent to members of the Wisconsin Legislature’s 2007-2009 Budget Conference Committee [copy attached], the Wisconsin Board of Veterans Affairs highlighted and underscored its deep concerns about the need for decisive action in the committee’s final report in four critical veterans affairs areas.

“Wisconsin veterans can be quite proud of the support provided by Gov. Jim Doyle, the Legislature and the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee in most veterans affairs related provisions of the state budget,” stated Pete Moran, Chair of the state’s Board of Veterans Affairs. “However, there are some veterans provisions that have fallen short of what needs to be done to adequately and properly address the needs of our state’s veterans while honoring their service and sacrifice on behalf of us all. The non-partisan Board has unanimously adopted budget policy positions in four areas of particular concern – including funding for the Wisconsin GI Bill education program and restoring program cuts, expanding veterans property tax relief, ensuring adequate nursing staff for older veterans living at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King and restoring cuts made by the Legislature to a new post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) initiative.”

The Wisconsin GI Bill currently provides qualified veterans and their spouses and children with tuition remissions while attending University of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Technical College system schools. “This program is not just a veterans benefit – it is an economic development initiative for our state,” Moran stressed. “Just as the federal GI Bill fueled the amazing expansion of the U.S. economy after World War II enabling the United States to become the greatest economic power in history, the Wisconsin GI Bill will keep our best and brightest in our state, fuel our economy and enhance the state’s tax base to more than offset the costs of the program in the long run.”

The Assembly version of the 2007-2009 budget stripped new funding for the GI Bill program recommended by the Governor and supported by the Joint Finance Committee and Senate. “There must be adequate funding to offset some of the new program costs to the UW and Technical College systems especially since the remission rate increases from 50% to 100% with the start of the new budget. Without it, the long term viability of the Wisconsin GI Bill program will be threatened,” stated Moran. “Additionally, placing a ten year delimiting date on the program and unduly restricting its graduate study provisions are not appropriate.”

The Board hailed an Assembly initiative to expand current veterans property tax relief as “a critically needed modification” of the program that refunds property taxes paid by 100% service-connected disabled veterans over 65 and their surviving spouses. “The expansion of the benefit to include all veterans who are 100% service-connected disabled or who receive 100% disability compensation due to unemployability is a matter of basic fairness to those Wisconsin veterans who are among those most severely affected by our nation’s wars,” stated Moran. “Multiple legislative hearings have underscored that the need for this property tax relief is not a matter of age, but the severity of a veteran’s disability. All one has to do is remember the horrific, life-altering injuries suffered by too many of our service members now returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.”

With regard to the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King, the Board called for the restoration of nursing staff levels recommended by Gov. Doyle to ensure that older veterans at the home will be consistently provided with adequate and proper care.

And noting that there is already a crisis unfolding with the readjustment and mental health needs of many returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, the Board also urged the conference committee members to fund new state PTSD initiatives with at least $100,000 in each of the two budget years, the amounts requested by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Gov. Doyle, calling the reduced amounts approved by the Senate, Assembly and Joint Finance “an insufficient and very disappointing amount.”

The Board of Veterans Affairs concluded its letter to the committee by stating, “[We are] not insensitive to the challenges and competing budget priorities faced by the Conference Committee, but we are a nation at war. This is not the time to cut existing veterans benefits. Instead, it should be the time to take pains to ensure that Wisconsin veterans’ needs are being adequately and properly addressed even within the constraints of current budgeting challenges. Wisconsin has a well-deserved national reputation for having the best array of state veterans programs in the United States. Wisconsin sets the national standard for how states should treat their veterans in honor of their service and sacrifice. That does not mean that Wisconsin is doing too much for our veterans – it simply means that the other states are not doing enough.”