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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Mike Sundin (DFL)

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Legislative Update - March 15, 2016

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Dear neighbors,

Yesterday, several House DFL legislators, including myself, introduced legislation to provide additional support for Minnesota veterans.

We owe our veterans so much, and I believe we can contribute more to improving the quality of life for many of our neighbors who have served our nation. Beyond helping those who return physically disabled, it is possible to do more to support the men and women who have already given so much to this country.

The bill we introduced approaches supporting veterans at every stage of their life:

  • Increases access to mental health services: Funds and allows the Soldiers’ Assistance Fund to cover court-ordered mental health and substance abuse counseling for veterans.
  • Financial relief while transitioning to a veteran home: Creates a tax credit for veterans who are staying in private nursing homes to help ease the financial burden while they wait for a bed in a veterans nursing home.
  • Expanding health coverage for veterans and guardsmen: Creates a feasibility study for providing health insurance to veterans and guardsmen to extend coverage beyond the health insurance programs provided by the federal VA and the Department of Defense.
  • Reducing domestic violence: Expands opportunities for veterans to participate in the Change Step Program for veterans who need domestic abuse counseling and education.
  • Ending veteran homelessness and honoring those who have served: Increases funding to address veterans homelessness and provides additional money to reimburse veterans service organizations for providing honor guards at veterans’ funerals.
  • Increases support for veterans who have struggled to reintegrate: Similar to drug courts, Veterans Courts provide problem-solving treatment and therapy instead of punitive court sentencing. These courts better recognize both the service and struggles many veterans experience.

There are real problems facing our veterans and we have an opportunity to act by taking meaningful legislative action. People of all political opinions can agree that we share common ground on the issue of improving access to resources for veterans, and that gives me hope that these proposals will move forward.

If you have questions on this bill, or any other legislative issue, please contact me at Rep.Mike.Sundin@house.mn or 651-296-4308.

It’s a privilege to serve you at the Capitol.

Sincerely,

Mike Sundin

State Representative