Fact Finder: Michigan-Veterans Department Cuts

FACED WITH A FLAGGING ECONOMIC FUTURE IN MICHIGAN:Some Veterans Say the Governor Has Gone Too Far This Time?

By Diana Fairbanks

The state is facing a major budget shortfall.  The Governor recently announced hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts that will affect every department. Some of the biggest cuts are $53 million dollars from community health and more than $15 million from State Police.The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is slated to lose more than $2.2 million dollars.

       That has some veterans speaking out and taking action. 

     The details in tonight’s Fact Finder Report. 

     Larry Butcher earned a Purple Heart in Vietnam, but his latest fight is just heating up as news of state budget cuts made the way to his office.

     Butcher says, "I looked at it and my blood started to boil."

     Of the more than $2 million dollars the state is cutting from the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, about half will come from veterans service organizations.  The American legion will lose 226,000. 

     Butcher says," Veterans are veterans and veterans come first."

     While it’s up to individual organizations to decide how to implement the cuts, Larry Butcher, President of the Grand Traverse Area Veterans Coalition says it will directly impact service officers like Pat Kline.

     Kline says, "my job is to help veterans file claims and get the benefits are due to them."

     Kline is a veteran who lives in Petoskey.  He now drives about 800 miles a week, criss-crossing the state helping veterans find their way through a bureaucratic maze.

     Kline says, "the paperwork on a typical claim can be 25-30 pages.  For the average veteran to go through, that can be very scary."

     And while the service cost the veteran nothing, some say cutting the program may cost the state in the long run.

     Butcher says, "it will cost the state millions of dollars of money the federal government wants to send us."

     Butcher and Kline say that veterans qualify for benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, but many need help getting through the system to actually receive those benefits.

     Kline says, "if the VA, as good as they are did everything they were supposed to do with veterans, they wouldn’t need us."

     While Kline and Butcher acknowledge the state’s budget problems, they say the Governor should not target services for veterans.

     Kline says, "there are other places they may be able to cut."

     Butcher says, "I can’t understand why she’s being so dumb.  She needs to say the money has been restored, or we need to vote unanimously to recall her."

     Veterans like Butcher and Kline are so serious about this, there is a rally and march on the state capitol planned for next Thursday at noon. 

      What do you think about the budget cuts?  Is this the best solution to the state’s budget problems?  I want to hear from you, leave your comments below.  If you would like to read the entire list of state cuts, click here.