Office of Governor Tony Evers *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:* March 19, 2025 Contact: [email protected]    *ICYMI: Gov. Evers Visiting Veterans and Veterans Organizations Across Wisconsin to Highlight Efforts to Support Wisconsin’s Veterans and Their Families* " Governor urges bipartisan support for new initiatives to support Wisconsin’s veterans, including lowering out-of-pocket costs, expanding access to healthcare and mental health services, supporting stable housing and substance use recovery, making job training and continuing education more affordable, helping veterans access earned benefits" MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers this week is traveling across Wisconsin highlighting initiatives in his 2025-27 Executive Budget announced last month that build upon the governor’s and the Evers Administration’s efforts to continue supporting Wisconsin’s approximately 300,000 veterans and their families. The governor kicked off the week with visits to veteran service organizations in Delafield, Oconto Falls, and Lake Tomahawk, where he highlighted his administration’s efforts to uplift and support veterans and also spoke with veterans and their families about their efforts to support veterans in their communities through providing mental health services and rehabilitation services.

“I’m incredibly proud of our work over the last six years to support Wisconsin’s veterans from our Blue Ribbon Commission on Veteran Opportunity to directed investments to support veteran housing and mental health, and we’re building upon this important work in this state budget,” said Gov. Evers. “Whether it’s helping get folks connected to available jobs, ensuring our veterans have the support they need to recover and thrive, or even simply making sure folks have a little breathing room in their budgets when they return to civilian life, these policies deserve bipartisan support in this state budget.”

Gov. Evers is visiting with veterans and veterans organizations across the state this week to highlight and urge bipartisan support for the governor’s new budget initiatives aimed at supporting veterans and their families, including investments to lower out-of-pocket costs, expand access to healthcare and mental health services, support stable housing and substance use recovery, make job training and continuing education more affordable, and help veterans access earned benefits, among other key priorities.

“I continue to be deeply concerned about the impacts recent federal actions are having on our veterans. Given everything happening in Washington, here in Wisconsin, we must take every step we can to make sure we are doing everything we can to support our veterans and their families,” Gov. Evers continued. “We make a promise to support, protect, and defend our veterans and their families who’ve helped support, protect, and defend us, and that’s a promise and an obligation we must take seriously, and I urge the Legislature to join me by supporting this important work.”

The governor’s travel this week comes in the wake of recent actions by the Trump Administration to baselessly and illegally fire tens of thousands of federal workers, including nearly 6,000 of our veterans [ [link removed] ], reportedly more than any other President in American history [ [link removed] ], and threaten to strip funding for resources veterans and their families rely on each and every day. Gov. Evers earlier this month blasted [ [link removed] ] President Trump and the Trump Administration for their continued attacks on veterans after new reports [ [link removed] ] indicated the administration plans to cut as many as 80,000 jobs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs—a move that is likely to impact veterans’ care and services across the country. Days later, Gov. Evers approved Wisconsin joining a multi-state lawsuit against President Trump and the Trump Administration for large-scale, reckless firings that have thrown tens of thousands of Americans across the country into chaos after being indiscriminately fired for no fault of their own. Gov. Evers’ statement on that lawsuit in response to these illegal actions by the Trump Administration is available here [ [link removed] ]. 

*SUPPORTING AND INVESTING IN WISCONSIN’S VETERANS AND FAMILIES *
Supporting Wisconsin’s veterans and their families and ensuring they have the resources and tools needed to thrive in their civilian lives has been a top priority for Gov. Evers and the Evers Administration since Day One. In 2022, Gov. Evers signed Executive Order #157, creating a Blue Ribbon Commission on Veteran Opportunity to develop comprehensive, long-term efforts to support the state’s veterans and address the challenges they face. Based on the Commission’s recommendations, Gov. Evers invested $10 million toward addressing gaps in existing veteran services and reducing barriers to economic security, including efforts to expand access to higher education and job training, address housing insecurity, and increase mental and behavioral health support and substance use disorder treatment.

The governor’s 2025-27 Executive Budget builds upon that important work, proposing investments and provisions that will help expand access to healthcare and affordable housing and give veterans more breathing room in their household budgets.

Last week, the governor also released [ [link removed] ] his 2025-27 Capital Budget, which includes investments that similarly honor Wisconsin’s Veterans with more than $137 million in essential upgrades to Wisconsin veterans homes and $6.2 million to set the stage for the future Wisconsin Veterans Museum upgrade and expansion. The 2025-27 Capital Budget Agency Requests and Governor’s Recommendations can be found here [ [link removed] ].

"*Expanding and Bolstering Access to Veterans’ Healthcare and Mental Health Services*"
Gov. Evers remains committed to meeting Wisconsin veterans where they are and making sure they’re aware of the services they have earned through their service, including ensuring access to mental health services and medical care. The governor’s budget includes: 
* More than $1 million to expand the Veterans Outreach and Recovery Program, which provides outreach mental health services and support to veterans who may have a mental health condition or substance use disorder; 
* The goal of the program is to reduce the suicide rate among veterans and to provide veterans access to mental health support, housing, and other services.  

* $2.7 million over the biennium for peer-run respite centers, including the peer-run respite center for veterans, to ensure the centers have a reliable, ongoing funding source; 
* $5 million for three grant programs to support mental health services statewide, including community-based services, emergency crisis services, and support for healthcare providers providing services to veterans; 
* $50,000 over the biennium to increase the annual grant to Camp American Legion to support relaxation and rehabilitation services for veterans and their families; 
* $200,000 over the biennium to support critical transportation services for veterans to access medical care; 
* $21.9 million over the biennium to Wisconsin veterans homes to maintain the high quality of care veterans deserve and have earned through their service; and 
* Expanding access to the Assistance for Needy Veterans Grant by including medical devices as an allowable expense under the program;
* Further, increasing the 12-month maximum grant award for the above program from $3,000 to $5,000 per recipient and the lifetime maximum grant award from $7,500 to $10,000. 

According to American Addiction Centers [ [link removed] ], veterans are more likely to suffer from PTSD, depression, substance use, and have higher rates of suicide compared to the general population. In Wisconsin, 74 percent [ [link removed] ] of veteran suicide deaths were firearm-related. In addition to investing in veterans’ mental health services, Gov. Evers’ 2025-27 Executive Budget also includes a comprehensive plan [ [link removed] ] to address crime, keep kids, veterans, families, and communities safe, and enact commonsense measures to prevent gun violence, including:  


* Proposing to create the new Self-Assigned Firearm Exclusion (SAFE) Program, which will help ensure folks who are in crisis have access to the resources needed to keep themselves and others safe;
* The SAFE Program will allow Wisconsinites to temporarily and voluntarily register to prevent themselves from purchasing a firearm. Similar programs have been enacted in multiple states across the U.S., including Washington, Virginia, Utah, and Delaware, and recent data has shown these self-exclusion programs to be successful.  

* Creating an extreme risk protection injunction process, known as a “Red Flag” law, for law enforcement or concerned loved ones to use where a court, after a hearing, may order an individual to refrain from possessing a firearm for up to one year if a judge finds clear and convincing evidence that they are likely to harm themselves or others; 
* Reinstating the 48-hour waiting period to purchase handguns; and 
* Creating the Wisconsin Office of Violence Prevention, which will support violence and gun violence prevention efforts statewide. 

"*Lowering Out-of-Pocket Costs and Expanding Access to Affordable Housing *"
Gov. Evers’ budget works to deliver $237 million in property tax relief for veterans, seniors, and individuals with disabilities by:  


* Expanding the Veterans and Surviving Spouses Property Tax Credit to include renters with a credit rate of 20 percent of rent when heat is included and 25 percent when heat is not included, ultimately providing $23 million in tax relief to veterans and their families over the biennium;
* Expanding eligibility for the Veterans and Surviving Spouses Property Tax Credit to allow those with disability ratings of 70 percent or greater to claim the credit beginning with tax year 2025, ultimately providing an additional $66.5 million in relief for disabled veterans and their families over the biennium;  
* Renaming the Homestead Tax Credit to the “Property Tax and Rent Rebate” and increasing the maximum income threshold for the credit. This will provide $147.8 million in property tax relief for approximately 165,000 homeowners and renters, especially seniors and others on fixed incomes over the biennium; and 
* Nearly $2 million over the biennium to the Veterans Housing and Recovery Program that provides homeless veterans with job training, education, counseling, and rehabilitation services necessary to achieve steady employment and affordable housing.   
* In 2024 alone, the program helped serve 225 veterans with an average length of stay of 208 days, well below the program’s maximum length of stay of 730 days. 

"*Honoring Veterans Past and Present *"
In addition to the governor’s broad investments in expanding access to affordable housing, healthcare, and workforce opportunities for veterans, the Evers Administration is also investing in several other initiatives and provisions that work to uplift and celebrate veterans across the state, including:  


* Over $129,000 to provide a five percent increase for state grants supporting County and Tribal Veterans Services Offices, which helps veterans navigate and access the benefits they have earned; 
* $1 million to the University of Wisconsin Missing-In-Action A Recovery Program for missions to recover and identify veterans missing in action;  
* $164,000 and one two-year project position to plan and implement special events related to Wisconsin’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America;  
* Expanding the definition of “veteran” to qualify for remission of tuition and fees to include any state resident who was naturalized as a U.S. citizen pursuant to the federal Hmong Veterans’ Naturalization Act of 2000; 
* Over $300,000 for the state’s veterans memorial cemeteries to continue providing a peaceful final resting place for eligible veterans, spouses, and dependents; Over $300,000 to support and expand the oral history programs at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum;  
* $5 million to modernize the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs benefit management information technology systems; and 
* Establishing Veterans Day as a state government holiday.
  An online version of this release is available here [ [link removed] ]. ###

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