A nearly 100-year-old veterans benefit program saw cuts during the latest state budget cycle after costs ballooned 450% in just four years.
The Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program, or VMSDEP, started after World War I as a way to support veterans to get an education. Over the next 90 years it was expanded, allowing family members of vets to also get a nearly cost-free education.
But changes made in 2019, according to state data, caused the program to explode from $12 million to $65 million a year.
“At the cost structure it is right now, there’s concern of the program potentially collapsing,” Tony Maggio, a fiscal analyst for the House of Delegates, told the House Appropriations committee Tuesday.
Check out Maggio's presentation on the program here.
To stop the hemorrhaging, budget negotiators and Governor Glenn Youngkin added some back stops, including requiring the use of other aid programs first. But that angered veteran advocates.
Youngkin has since called for a task force, made up mostly of veterans, to address the issue.
And at this week’s meeting of the House Appropriations committee, Maggio explained how other states have wrangled their similar program's cost.
Texas requires other financing options to be exhausted and requires recipients to be citizens of the state when they enter military service. Virginia has a looser citizenship requirement. California has an income threshold to target lower income applicants, Virginia does not.
While advocates have called for swift action on the matter, Republican Delegate Terry Austin said the legislature should wait for Youngkin’s task force to meet and issue a study first.
“We’re looking forward to what the costs associated are," Austin said. "That does not mean we’re not receptive to the study and reacting to the study when the time comes.”
The VMSDEP task force meets June 10th.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
