Virginia’s veterans gave elected officials and their gubernatorial counterparts an earful Monday. It was part of the first public hearing meeting to determine the fate of an education program that helps the families of injured vets.
Public comment made up most of the nearly four and a half hour hearing on the future of the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program, or VMSDEP. The meeting was agreed to by Governor Glenn Youngkin and Democratic leadership in the House and Senate to give those impacted a chance to speak.
Among those who took advantage of the chance was Jason Redman, a 41-year-veteran of the Navy Seals who was shot 8 times while overseas in 2007. His daughter is currently a recipient of the program which covers the entire cost of a beneficiary’s college education.
“One of the things I knew while serving overseas was if the worst ever happened, I was killed or severely wounded, my children would have their education covered by the VMSDEP program,” Redman said.
He was among the dozens who decried changes to the program, made in the budget without public comment. Those changes were needed, legislators said, because the cost of the program ballooned. It went from $12 million to $65 million a year since 2019.
House Appropriations Chair Luke Torian, among the elected officials on the task force, spoke to Radio IQ after the meeting.
“Virginia will continue to offer a very meaningful program," Torian told Radio IQ. "Will there be some changes? That will be up to the task force recommendations.”
Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs Craig Crenshaw said there will be a meeting in July for the task force to better understand how the program works. And then in August a working meeting aims to craft recommendations that could be adopted by the legislature in 2025.
In the meantime, a special session designed to return the program to its pre-2024 budget form is expected before the end of the month.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
