SAINT PAUL, MN – The Minnesota House on Tuesday unanimously passed the Veterans omnibus bill. The bill provides $367.7 million for programs to help veterans and military for the 2024-25 biennium.
“The Veterans and Military Affairs omnibus bill demonstrated that bipartisanship is possible. Just as our military is non-partisan, we have acted with resounding unity of effort to support our Veterans and Military.” said Rep. Mark Wiens, R-Lake Elmo. “I am proud that in my first term at the legislature, I was able to work across the aisle to craft solutions to provide the necessary support to our servicemembers on the Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. In my work on the Committee, I wanted to ensure that our government is being responsible, accountable, and transparent, and evaluates every tax dollar spent, thus both honoring our commitment to our tax-paying citizens and fulfilling our pledge to our military and veterans. I am pleased that my efforts to put guardrails in place to ensure your tax dollars are going toward supporting veterans were included in this bill. The House not only voted to support Minnesota’s veterans, but also voted to ensure government is working effectively for you.”
House Republicans successfully added numerous provisions to the bill. This includes expanding the eligibility for free burial in Minnesota state Veterans cemeteries to spouses and dependent children of Veterans and Service Members who die while on active duty, prohibiting the MDVA from charging burial fees, and authorizing Support Our Troops funds as an eligible use.
The bill also expands the Veteran Bonus program to veterans who currently live in Minnesota, even though they may not have lived in the state when they enlisted, as well as veterans who served in the Inherent Resolve Military campaign. Additional funding for veteran bonuses also is included in the package.
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