Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers (D) on Thursday announced several budget items for Fiscal Years 2023-25 that would expand aid to Badger State veterans.
Priorities Evers mentioned included programs to assist ex-military personnel with employment, education, mental health, and housing security. He said the proposal builds on earlier expenditures the governor and legislature made last year, spurred by recommendations of his Blue Ribbon Commission on Veteran Opportunity.
“From creating our Blue Ribbon Commission on Veteran Opportunity to investing in employment opportunities, housing assistance and increased mental health services for our veteran community, we’ve made important progress these last few years to ensure Wisconsin veterans have access to the support and resources they’ve earned and deserve,” Evers said in a statement. “Now, we’re continuing that good work in the upcoming biennial budget by proposing continued investment in various innovative initiatives to ensure the state is equipped to meet the needs of our veteran community and help them build strong, lasting success.”
Over 300,000 veterans live in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs is the state agency tasked with administering their benefits, and Evers’s proposed budget would allocate $500,000 to evaluate their needs in light of the multiple deployments many of them have served. He also wants an additional $843,600 annually for County and Tribal Veterans Services Offices and $2.8 million over the next two years for University of Wisconsin military-student programs.
On mental health, Evers is asking legislators to add $957,200 to the Veterans Outreach and Recovery Program’s funding to address the psychological troubles and substance-abuse concerns from which some veterans suffer. On employment, the proposed budget calls for allotting $450,000 each year to employers training veterans transitioning to civilian life.
A number of items in the budget concern veterans’ housing, including expanded access to the Veterans and Surviving Spouses Property Tax Credit which would provide $53.2 million in new tax relief over two years. Another component, costing $1 million annually, would create a veteran rental assistance program.
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Bradley Vasoli is managing editor of The Wisconsin Daily Star. Follow Brad on Twitter at @BVasoli. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tony Evers” by Tony Evers.
