Report
Meeting at Building 9, VAMC Campus
- Call to order – 09:30, Invocation– Pledge of Allegiance
- Greetings: Recognition of visitors and guests
- Announcements – Jerry Kyser, Chair; Mike Rivard, Vice Chair
- Introducing Lou Michaels the new department commander for the Jewish War Veterans of the USA.
- Introducing Lynn Varco with the MN Alliance for Ethical Healthcare.
- Introducing Wing Commander Chris Lay of the 934th Air Station.
1. Federal Congressional Representatives and Senators
Senator Amy Klobuchar- Kurt Johnson
• Not present.
Senator Tina Smith – Alex Schueller
• Not present.
1st District Representative – Jim Hagedorn – Joe Steck
• Not present.
2nd District Representative – Angie Craig – Nick Cole
• Not present.
3rd District Representative – Dean Phillips – Rollie Olson reporting
• Thirty candidates were nominated for the Service Academies. Appointments are now rolling in.
• We are proud the House was able to pass HR 2398, the Veterans House Act. Now veterans are able to qualify for a HUD voucher with an other than honorable discharge.
• Several bills other bills are currently under consideration and we hope to have further updates in March.
4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland reporting
• On January 29th, a VA press release noted that applications are open for community organizations to apply for millions in adaptive sports grants to support community reintegration for disabled veterans.
• We are proud of our work on the Service Academy nominations. Five students have already received offers of admission to the various academies. Two young women have already accepted
their appointments.
5th District Representative – Ilhan Omar – Akolade Gbadamosi reporting
• Omar currently sits on the 499 and supports ending endless wars, giving veterans proper benefits, and many other initiatives along those lines. She recently cosponsored HF 4574, the Veterans Right to Breathe Act. Peterson is also a cosponsor.
• We have also been working with Veterans for Peace and the local VWF to identify additional legislation to support.
• Last year, Omar was able to save or return $100,000 to her constituents. Over $15,000 of that was VA related. If you know of any constituents that have VA cases that involve a federal agency that need help, please contact Akolade Gbadamos with the details.
6th District Representation – Tom Emmer – Alejandra Henriquez reporting
• Lt. Colonel Brian Winter was Congressman Emmer’s guest on February 4th in DC.
• Emmer introduced legislation to support the SAVE Act on January 30th. More information will be forthcoming. Emmer is passionate about this legislature.
7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie reporting
• One of the young women who was granted a nomination to the Air Force Academy. Her high school streamed her acceptance call from Peterson live on Facebook.
• We are working on the final draft of the codel letter concerning the need for new veterans centers in Minnesota to Secretary Wilkie. We hope to have the draft finished and set out to the other codel members during the week of February 5th for approval. Currently there are three veterans centers in Minnesota. We are hoping to establish more in greater Minnesota.
Q. Over the past two years the post office has tried to eliminate the bulk mail permit for nonprofits, specifically the American Legion and VFW posts. What is the status of the bill?
A. I do not know, but I will find out.
Q. What would these additional veterans centers provide in terms of services?
A. They would be readjustment centers, providing counseling and readjustment services following deployment. Readjustment counseling services first started in 1979, following a push from several members of congress who were concerned Vietnam veterans were not going to VA hospitals. Counseling helps veterans but also family members with the adjustment. Data has shown other states have exponentially expanded their veteran centers while Minnesota has remained static. There is a gap of service in Bemidji, Marshal, and Morris.
8th District Representative – Pete Stauber – Margaret Cavanaugh
• Not present.
2. Federal Agencies
VISN 23 – Ron Woolery and Andrew Frost reporting
• Nationally, a VA program office recalculated the fee schedule for homecare services; this is the amount paid to agencies that provide care for veterans in their homes. Issues began coming in about this in early January, indicating the rate was significantly lower than what the VA had paid
agencies in the past. We have been working with the national program office to untangle the issue. The VA completed an examination of the revised fee schedules on January 31st and expects to provide updated information to publish those fee schedules during the week of February 5th. We will share any additional information when we receive it.
• VISN would like to express their gratitude to their home care agency partners for their help during this time. The VA does not provide these services and VISN relies on partnerships with agencies within the community. Their services are essential to allow veterans to stay in their homes and avoid being placed in institutions.
Q. Where did the fee schedule originate?
A. It came out of the VA Geriatrics and Extended Care program office in Washington.
Q. Are these fee schedules typically revised annually?
A. They are revised annually, though in prior years it was done in a different manner. Though the rates were individualized by location, they were revised at the national level. The old system was unfortunately prone to errors.
Q. Was there anything specific that prompted the change?
A. I cannot speak that, as I was not involved in that process.
Q. Why are we only hearing about these adjustments now?
A. Unfortunately, it was not communicated well. Andrew Frost only became aware of the issue in early January.
Q. Locally, how many veterans have been affected by this?
A. I do not have specific numbers. In most cases, it’s the home care agencies that are seeing the biggest impact. Thankfully, many of them chose to shoulder that financial burden while the issue is addressed. I am not aware of any veterans being discharged from home care because of this change. Approximately 4,000 veterans utilize home care in the St. Paul VA system who were all impacted when the funding was cut 60%.
Q. This is a nationwide issue, not just in Minnesota?
A. Correct. This was a decision made in Washington without the input of local groups.
Q. My understanding was that goal was match the CMS rates. Is that correct?
A. Yes. The Mission Act requires that the VA follows the CMS schedule when there is a fee. However, much of the home care that VISN sends through the VA would not typically be approved or paid for by Medicare. When there is not a Medicare rate available, the secretary has the authority to establish a fee schedule.
Q. Who made the decision in Washington?
A. The fee schedule was generated by the Geriatrics and Extended Care program office within the VCA. There are still rates by facilities. Minneapolis and Fargo saw significant cuts, but the numbers vary across the country due to location-specific considerations.
Q. Is this a result of the Mission Act or something else?
A. To my knowledge, this is not directly tied to the Mission Act. The secretary has always had the ability to establish a fee schedule when a Medicare rate is not available.
Q. If there is an update before the next UVLC meeting, please contact us. We will share the information to all the UVLC members.
A. Will do.
VBA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Pete Philippi reporting
• Two new VA programs started in December; the Solid Start program and the Association of Military Banks of America.
• The Solid Start Program uses the national call centers to reach out to newly discharged veterans by phone, email, or text within 90 days of the veteran’s discharge from service to cover all aspects of all available veterans benefits. Once the veterans needs have been satisfied within 90 days, the agent will then reach out again within 180 days and again at the 365 day mark.
• The Association of Military Banks of America was created when the VA put together a consortium of banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and others, where veterans have an opportunity to receive banking services they would not normally have access to due to legal, financial, or credit issues. These programs have enhanced protection against fraud and identity theft. This also includes issuing pre-paid credit cards to help veterans establish good credit. Young veterans have historically struggled to meet their banking needs after a discharge.
• The regional office is running at just over 100% staffing, with 794 employees. Eleven new employees were hired during the week of February 5th.
• We are focused on the Appeals Modernization Act and meeting the deadlines to take care of all the legacy appeals. We are proud of the work done to manage the backlog and are set to complete to complete all of the Notices of Disagreement that are within the legacy appeals inventory by April of 2020. We are on schedule have all of the Form 9s completed by July of 2020. We plan to significantly reduce the number of remands by 2021.
• The other focus is on the Blue Water Navy Act. The nation currently has 16,602 Blue Water Navy claims pending. We have completed 1,291 claims across the nation. This has resulted in $43.25 million issued in retroactive benefits to veterans. In St. Paul, the compensation department has completed 136 Blue Water Navy claims, resulting in $300, 075,079 as of February 4th. The pension center has completed 381 Blue Water Navy Survivors Benefits claims, amounting in approximately $9,606,000.
Mpls VA HCS – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Brad Doboszenski reporting
• The Go Red Women’s Heart Heath event was held on February 4th in the Minneapolis VA auditorium. Over two hours, more than 88 women were photographed for an I’m Not Invisible event. This event will be expanded to VAs nationwide.
• There will be a one-day only walk-in for the sensory suits on February 12th. This has been pushed out all women veterans in the VA system, who are invited to come and tour the new sensory suits for mammograms.
• Ground will be on the new women veterans building for healthcare on the Minneapolis campus this summer
• The expired drug take-back box opened at the beginning of February. There are currently two on campus, one at the outpatient entrance and one in the flag atrium. In two and a half weeks, the boxes are close to full. Additionally, all of the CBOCs have received the envelopes for expired medication so that veterans can turn in their unused or expired medication.
• There will be a Salute to Veterans on February 14th at the Minneapolis campus.
St. Cloud VA HCS – Brent Thelen – Barry Venerable reporting
• Director Thelen is in Washington this week visiting members of congress.
• AFGE Local 390 represents the employees at the St. Cloud VA. There is a national master labor agreement between the VA and AFGE, which St. Cloud abides by in both letter and spirit. The president issued some executive orders last year that now require unions who previously occupied free space inside VA medical centers to either pay rent or find other locations. Our local has elected to move out of the St. Paul facility and will be doing so during the week of February 5th.
Q. I understand the rent that has been requested of unions on VA property is fairly exorbitant and the contract negotiations have hit a standstill because of bad faith efforts by the secretary and the overall administration. Is this true?
A. The VA and AFGE, as well as other national unions, are renegotiating the master agreement. I cannot offer any more information about the nature of those negotiations. In the meantime, St. Cloud will follow the existing master agreement both in word and in spirit.
Q. What do you charge for office space for service organizations or CVSOs?
A. We do not have CVSOs in the medical center on a regular basis. If a CVSO comes in and has a piece of business to address, we will put them in a spare room. However, there are tenants at the medical center who are permanent residents, including the VRNE counselor from the regional office. We have one full time and one part time veterans service officer provided by MN DVA who occupy office space in the medical center and conduct VSO business, primarily serving the residential population but focusing on the RRTP program. In addition to that, the DAV has several office spaces from which they operate the transportation program. None of those organizations are charged rent.
Ft. Snelling Cemetery – John Knapp – Bob Razor
• Not present.
3. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations
MN Dept. of Veteran Affairs – Larry Herke – Ben Johnson reporting
• We are in the process of finalizing our legislative requests, supplemental budget, and policy initiatives.
• We have been selected to appear in the governor’s challenge to prevent suicide among veterans and service members. The initiative is a collaboration between the VA and SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services).
• We have also been briefing the governor in preparation for his trip to DC for the National Governors Association. The following talking points were discussed:
• Ending veteran homelessness is currently the number one goal of the agency. Between 2010 and 2020, we have established housing solutions with partners in the community for over 1,800 veterans. We continue to identify and house veterans. The goal is to eventually turn the tide to finding fewer veterans for the registry and provide housing for more. The trend has shifted over the last five years from finding high numbers of veterans but only housing some of them to finding fewer but housing more.
• We encouraged the governor to discuss House Resolution 715, which is an opportunity for the HUD secretary to develop a strategy to identify veterans who are not eligible for HUD-VASH vouchers and develop a strategy to house them. We continue to encourage our partners in the congressional delegation to co-sponsoring the resolution.
• Veteran suicide prevention remains a high priority and is included in the supplemental budget request that is pending the February forecast. The governor will release his budget after the forecast. The forecast will indicate how much money the state has available to
supplemental funding requests.
• The State Home Construction Grant Program recommended the governor push for the release of the list for conditional approvals. The earliest it has ever been released in past years is January 26th. It has also been released as late as April in the past. This year, we are expecting it to be released sometime in February. The design is completed and ready on all three of the state veterans homes. We control the property, have found contractors, and are in the process of approving subcontractors. The only thing left is the federal funding.
• We are awaiting word on the grant from the National Cemeteries Administration to get Redwood County funded. If funded, Redwood County would become the fourth state veterans cemetery legislatively authorized.
• Thank you to Meg Louwagie for all of her work on advocating for the expansion of veterans centers and gathering information for the governor’s brief.
• The governor has been briefed on the Mayo Clinic’s participation in the Mission Act and the news with TriCare.
Q. What is the current number on the homeless veterans registry?
A. In total, 271. Of those, 188 are VA or HUD eligible, 83 are non-VA eligible.
Q. In fiscal year 2019, the Hennepin County Community of Care Priority List comprising $12 million of federal funding ranked 40 projects without targeting veterans. The first veterans group came in a bonus round at #44 and it is unclear if they will receive funding. We are not going to end veteran homelessness in Hennepin and Ramsey County unless COCs start paying attention to the intent of congress on federal spending and begin requiring those counties prioritize state funding on ending homelessness. Mayor Frye will receive a letter that was written on January 31st by Curtis Gilbert of MN Public Radio on this issue, noting that Minnesota swore to end homelessness among veterans on January 31st, 2014.
A. In 2010, Shinseki’s order was a five-year plan to end veteran’s homeless. I do not deny that we have not achieved what we set out to achieve in a timely manner. As an agency, we are continuing to look at opportunities to address these particular issues and advocate for policies we know we can change. One of those we are targeting is the HUD-VASH voucher program. Our report today was not to diminish the ones that have not been successful, but to highlight some MNDVA believes can be.
MN Military Affairs – Jon Jensen – Brian Winter
• Not present.
MN Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV) – Neal Loidolt – Sean Rife reporting
• There was a legal clinic at the VA on February 4th. The next will be held on March 5th in Anoka and on March 10th in the Minneapolis VA campus.
• We have partnered with the city of Chaska for the new housing project.
• The Bloomington open house and ribbon cutting will be held on March 6th.
• A PIT (Point and Time) count was conducted in January. Results should be forthcoming shortly.
• We are still looking for a potential venue for a landlord engagement event to discuss available partnerships and best practices, in addition to programs implemented by HousingLink.
MN DEED Veteran Employment Program – Raymond Douha
• Not present.
Military Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser reporting
• The next MAG meeting will be held on February 24th at 9:00 AM at 300 South in the state office building. We intend to have a number of organizations stop by. Representative Dettmer, Jerry Kyser, and Senator Bruce Anderson will be in attendance. Please arrange an appointment through Dettmer’s office if you wish to speak at the meeting.
• Our goal is to establish the agenda of the Commanders’ Task Force, CVSOs, and the UVLC on the projects for 2020 to make Minnesota more veteran business friendly.
• Veterans Day on the Hill is April 20th. However, the legislative session opens on February 11th and we will need to begin moving on bills and legislative action at that time.
Q. At the meeting, will Dettmer and Anderson have a preliminary list of bills that have been identified going forward?
A. They are working on that.
Q. In the past, there have been discussions about breaking up Veteran and Military Affairs as a separate entity and pushing bills through versus putting them through with other committee bills. Can we continue driving that separation?
A. I would like the governor to have a veterans-only omnibus bill. The House and Senate leadership would need to be united in order to do that.
Disabled American Veterans –Trent Dilks
• Not present.
MN Alliance for Ethical Healthcare – Lynn Varco reporting
• The MN Alliance for Ethical Healthcare is a nonpartisan advocacy organization with approximately 75 different healthcare providers, community organizations, and advocates. Our goal is to ensure real healthcare through all of life’s journey. At the moment, we are working to oppose the statewide legislative initiative to legalize assisted suicide. There is a bill pending in Minnesota called the End of Life Options Act. We believe the bill unfairly targets people with disabilities—including veterans, who have higher rates of suicide and depression—and incentives insurance companies to discriminate against those groups.
• We support the two suicide prevention initiatives outlined by Ben Johnson and have been discussing them with MN DVA. We want to ensure there are protections for veterans and people who suffer from mental health issues, and are addressing workforce issues with caregivers, including caregiver tax credits and caregiver leave. This also impacts veterans and their family members so that the veteran can stay in their home instead of going to an institution or other medicalized intervention.
• We are working on a disability card to make it easier for disabled citizens to access services and avoid getting tangled in bureaucratic red tape.
• The National Counsel on Disability has issued a research paper this past fall about how assisted suicide laws disproportionately affect groups like veterans.
• Though we do not believe this issue will gain traction in 2020 due to the divided legislature, it is one we feel strongly about and hope that other groups will join in the fight. We invite anyone who is interested to join our coalition partners. There is no fee associated with this.
Q. Who is funding your group?
A. We are a 50C4 and have some individual funders, including several disability advocacy groups, and other community organizations.
Q. Do you know more about where the data in the assisted suicide study was gathered?
A. It was released by the Southern Medical Journal. The survey concluded that in the municipalities where assisted suicide was legalized, there have been higher rates of depression related to suicide and in Organ, where assisted suicide has been legal since 1997, there are an estimated quarter to a third of the people who requested life ending drugs are clinically depressed. In Oregon, just as the bill that is being proposed in Minnesota, there is no required mental health evaluation. People can request these drugs and there is no requirement that a physician examine them or review their case, or consider their mental health beforehand. These are troubling trends with laws like this.
Q. Where do the drugs come from?
A. Since the law was first passed in the late 90s, there have been two drug cocktails that are preferred. The drugs that are used now are prescribed by a physician. All of these drugs are self-administered. They are taken in capsule form. There are studies that indicate individuals who self-administer have had a complication rate of approximately 5 to 10%.
Q. What eight states are involved in this legislature?
A. Oregon was the first. California and Maine legalized it in 2019, as well as the District of Columbia. There are currently initiatives in Maryland and Virginia. Minnesota has been targeted by Compassion In Choice, the group that supports assisted suicide legislature. It was originally called the Hemlock Society.
MN CVSO – Greg Peterson – Chris Hinton reporting
• There was a retreat in Victoria in January with a facilitator to help the organization identify a vision for the future and goals to achieve that. The project is ongoing but we believe it will ultimately help MN CVSOs get on the right path.
• Kevin Olson and Anna Long with SnowGlobe Public Relations have been contracted for another year to help the CVSOs with outreach on social media and advertising.
• The spring training will be held on two locations, at Walker, Minnesota in March and Mankato in April.
• There will be a presentation at the Debt Center on February 20th.
• A new veterans memorial will be dedicated in Fairmount on August 1st.
• Corning County, Ottertail County, and Yellow Medicine County all have new CVSOs.
• There will be a legislative conference with the NACVSO on February 23rd through the 26th in Washington, DC.
• If there are any questions about where the MN CVSOs stand on a particular issue, please contact Chris Hinton.
Vets for Peace – Jeff Roy reporting
• This is the 10th month of the informational meeting on the bridge. The response has been positive every month. We unfortunately cannot hold these meetings on VA property. A number of organizations are now working with us, including national organizations.
• The national Save Our VA working group will be holding its first conference from February 9th through the 13th in Washington, DC. Veterans will be coming from all over the nation to strategize in order to continue the work of saving the VA from privatization. This is our key focus. Meetings have been set up with members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee on two different days to discuss the issue of privatization. Unfortunately the Senate has indicated they are not interested in helping at this point, but we hope this will change in the future.
MN Humanities Center – Blake Rondeau reporting
• The submissions for this year’s Veteran Voices Award will open on February 6th. We are keeping with the transition from last year where we will have veterans submit their stories. This is also open to the Special Gorilla Unit and Hmong veterans living in Minnesota. This shift has come because the MN Humanities Center gets it’s funding from the taxpayers and in the legislation verbiage, it states the objective is to support, not to supplant. We have also looked at other humanities centers across the nation that have been working to capture stories and create educational chapbooks so people can read veterans’ stories. Many participants from the Warrior Writers workshop submitted to the Veterans Voices Award and many others were nominated.
• Submissions for the Veteran Voices Award will close on July 31st.
• The award ceremony will be held on Saturday, October 10th at the Wilder Center.
• If any organizations are interested at tabling at the ceremony, please contact Blake Rondeau at (651) 772–4248 or at (blake@mnhum.org).
• There will be writing workshops on April 23rd at MHC, May 7th at the Blue Earth County Historical Society in Mankato, June 4th at Cascade Meadow on the St. Mary’s campus in Rochester, and July 9th at Lake Superior College in Duluth. All of them will run from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. More information will be posted on https://mnhum.org.
• There is a handshake agreement with the Mental Health wing at the Minneapolis VA and the DNR to support the Hikes and Humanities Program. This will entail squad-sized elements of veterans getting together, reading literature, and sharing green space therapy. The DNR is excited to get on board and there is talk about conducting the program at two regional parks, though there is also the possibility of families coming in September to share in hiking. The DNR will provide tents and space.
Project Got Your Back / MNME – Allison Alstrin reporting
• The Minnesota Military and Veteran Exchange is working to ensure that all veteran organizations are connecting together to provide information and services to provide collective impact work together.
• We have a state steering team meeting on February 5th. The team is helping to collaborate around the regions and support regional steering teams. The other regions MNME is working with are Duluth, St. Cloud, Fargo, and region 5.
• The Twin Cities Military Veteran Exchange meets quarterly. The next meeting will be on March 5th. Location is tentatively scheduled for Comcast. Within the regional work, we are launching taskforces, though only the Twin Cities has gotten their taskforce fully off the ground. There is a family taskforce, a finance taskforce, and standard operating procedures and process taskforce.
• We are partnering with the VA on their suicide prevention coalition. There will be a meeting on February 10th from 1:00 to 3:00 PM at the MCTC campus.
• The Hiring Our Heroes event will be held on February 11th.
• The Experience 2020 event on the VEAC model is forthcoming, but we do not expect to receive a date from Target Field for at least another two months. Planning meetings are ongoing. If you are interested in contributing, please contact Alison Alstrin. Ron Sackett is currently with team two with the VBA at the VEAC in Montgomery, AL.
• The MNME website is www.mnme.us. The website is constantly evolving to better serve the needs of the community.
MN Military Museum – Randal Dietrich
• Nothing to report.
Paralyzed Veterans of America – Todd Kemery
• Not present.
Historic Fort Snelling – Tom Lolland
• Not present.