Dear Neighbors and Friends
Last Monday, we got a chance to honor our service men and women on Veterans Day. Without their sacrifice, our way of life wouldn’t be possible. So even though Veterans Day has passed, let’s remember that we aren’t limited to showing our appreciation on just one day. We should be working to show our appreciation throughout the entire year.
Part of that appreciation should come in increased support for veterans support programs. When our service men and women return home, they have numerous challenges to deal with. Besides transitioning back into their everyday life, veterans can deal with numerous other financial and emotional issues.
That’s why this year, we expanded the Minnesota GI Bill, changed the bidding process for public projects to encourage the use of veteran owned small businesses, and increased funding for the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans to help vets who may be in danger of losing their home. Just recently, construction of the Southeast MN Veterans Cemetery began. This will offer a resting place for veterans that is much closer that other current options. We also provided $1.75 million to develop and expand specialty courts that are specifically designed to handle cases related to veterans and other issues.
All of these improvements will help provide better support for our veterans when they return home. But we know there’s a lot more that can be done. This year, the House put a Veterans Jobs Tax Credit into our final budget that would give businesses a tax credit for hiring vets. Unfortunately it got removed when the Senate bill was combined with ours. We need to put a credit like that in place to encourage our small businesses to hire qualified veterans across Minnesota.
Even though Veterans Day has passed, it’s important to remember the sacrifice our service men and women have made to protect our freedoms. That sacrifice is something that deserves our praise every day of the year.
Tim Faust