Madison — Today the State Assembly passed two bills that authors claimed would address the closure of Veterans Housing and Recovery Program facilities in Green Bay and Chippewa Falls. In reality, none of the funding in these bills will reopen those centers or restore services for the veterans who relied on them.
Rep. Amaad Rivera Wagner released the following statement:
“I am frustrated and disappointed because we should never have been in this situation. The Governor’s budget included the funding needed to keep these facilities open, but the Joint Finance Committee removed it. Since then, members from both parties have tried to fix this mistake, yet the bills passed today do nothing for homeless veterans in Green Bay, the Fox Valley, or the Chippewa Valley.
More support for veterans is always welcome, but calling these bills a fix is simply not true. Not one dollar will restore a bed or a service in my district, and I cannot stay silent about that.”
The Governor proposed one point nine million dollars for the VHRP program. The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau confirmed it was needed to keep the Green Bay and Chippewa Falls facilities open. After the Joint Finance Committee voted against that funding, both facilities closed. The last veteran left Green Bay in September.
Rep. Rivera Wagner co authored Assembly Bill 383, which would fully restore VHRP funding and restart operations. Instead, the Assembly passed Assembly Bills 596 and 597, which create a new grant program that only four organizations in the entire state currently qualify for. None of them serve veterans in northern Wisconsin.
“Our veterans deserve more than political shortcuts,” Rivera Wagner said. “I will continue fighting for a real solution that restores these services and honors the people who served our country.”
