In an effort to better serve veterans, Governor Pete Ricketts unveils his proposal to combine two different veterans agencies.
Ricketts said this bill is needed because it will save the state over a million dollars and prevent the veterans who need the services from being confused on where to go for medical help.
“Often times veterans will get discouraged and they'll just quit and they don't want to mess with it anymore and as far as I’m concerned that's really sad,” said Air Force veteran Richard Pierce.
That’s the kind of sentiment Pierce hears from his older colleagues depending on critical care; confusion on where to go for medical help.
“I think everything under one roof, that it will be a lot better for the veterans that are requiring services,” said Pierce.
Ricketts said that’s why he wants to combine the Division of Veterans Homes, under DHHS and the Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs into one entity, “What we hope to be able to accomplish is create that one-stop shop for all of our veterans so they don't have to go to two different agencies to get answers.”
Ricketts said there are over 143,000 veterans in the state who at some point will probably rely on the services.
Head of both departments, John Hilgert says this move will save the state $1.4 million dollars by shifting money out of the general fund's budget.
There would be no job losses and department services would be streamlined.
“This will help our focus and focus our resources where they should be for our veterans,” said Hilgert.
Army veteran Fred Van Peer agrees this would help them out and will get rid of the confusion.
“It just makes a whole lot of sense to combine the two and put under one roof,” said Van Peer.
And providing better care for the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our freedom.
“A lot of them aren't even aware of the services that are available to them and I think this will help that process too,” said Pierce.
This bill will be sponsored by Senator John Murante of Gretna who is the chair of the Government, Military and Veteran Affairs committee. Expect a hearing on this bill within the next couple of months.
