WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King joined a bipartisan group of their Senate colleagues to write to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies urging them to support robust funding for State Veterans’ Homes that help provide long-term care to American veterans. Federal funds provided by the State Veterans’ Home Construction Grant Program allow states to make critical facility upgrades or construct new facilities to serve aging veteran populations. For Fiscal Year 2017, funding was only sufficient to cover the top 10 out of the VA’s approximately 100 highest priority projects, resulting in a backlog of facilities requiring upgrades or new construction.  The Bangor State Veterans Home was number 12 on VA’s Fiscal Year 2017 priority list, and the Augusta State Home was number 14.

“State Veterans’ Homes have a long history of helping ensure that veterans disabled by age, illness, or other conditions continue to receive the respect and dignity they have earned through their service,” Senators Collins and King and their colleagues wrote in the letter. “The growing backlog of more than 100 construction and renovation projects across the country, the majority of which have already secured matching state appropriations, presents challenges to meeting the long-term care needs of these veterans, particularly in rural states or states lacking alternate VA-certified facilities.”

State Veterans’ Homes are facilities that are operated by state governments and partner with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide nursing home, domiciliary, and adult day care services to veterans with special medical needs, including thousands of elderly veterans. There are six Maine Veterans’ Homes across the state with locations in Augusta, Caribou, Scarborough, South Paris, Bangor and Machias.

Also joining Senators Collins and King in signing the letter were Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Oreg.).

The complete text of the letter can be read HERE and is below:

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Dear Chairman Moran and Ranking Member Schatz:

As the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies considers appropriations for the 2018 fiscal year, we respectfully ask that you provide robust funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) State Home Construction Grant Program. Continued federal support for VA State Homes will build on the success of these facilities in serving the long-term care needs of our country’s veterans.

State Veterans Homes have a long history of helping ensure that veterans disabled by age, illness, or other conditions continue to receive the respect and dignity they have earned through their service. Operated by state governments, these facilities play important roles in the effort to address the unique health and quality of life needs of each state’s veteran population. The VA partners with certified state homes to provide nursing home, domiciliary, and adult day care services to critical segments of the veteran population with continuing or special medical needs, including thousands of elderly veterans.

Federal funds made available through the VA State Home Construction Grant Program allow states to make critical renovations and upgrades to existing facilities and construct new facilities to serve the aging veteran population. These grant opportunities are important to ensure that each State Veterans Home facility continues to meet VA’s standards and delivers the highest caliber of care to veterans. The growing backlog of more than 100 construction and renovation projects across the country, the majority of which have already secured matching state appropriations, presents challenges to meeting the long-term care needs of these veterans, particularly in rural states or states lacking alternate VA-certified facilities.

We recognize the difficult budgetary decisions that the Subcommittee is facing. However, we want to underscore that robust funding for the VA State Home Construction Grant Program will allow State Homes to continue to provide high-quality care for our country’s elderly veterans and veterans with long-term medical needs. Thank you for your consideration of this request and for your continued support in ensuring our nation’s veterans live with dignity.

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