Veterans Council Bill Opposed For Lack of Support

Controversy began to stir during the Committee on Government Operations, Veterans Affairs, and Consumer Protection on Wednesday as Sen. Dwayne M. DeGraff proposed legislation to establish a Veterans Council.

Bill No. 35-0008 is an Act amending the Virgin Islands Code to allow the Office of Veterans Affairs to establish the Veterans Council under the Office of Veterans Affairs to serve as advisor to the Office of Veterans Affairs and as a liaison between the Office of Veterans Affairs and all private entities serving veterans in the territory.

Sen. Ray Fonseca was skeptical about the financial impact the council might have on the Veteran’s budget; however, the bill did not call for any additional funding to implement the council, which raised some concerns.

“The council would need training and travel if they needed to be certified, which would impact the budget,” Fonseca said.

The legislation, as written, does not require or specify to training or certification and Veterans Affairs Director Patrick Farrell made it clear that there are no discretionary funds for the council in the budget at this time.

“The Council as it is right now asked for me not to allow the politic aspect of this to get in between our council that we have right now,” Farrell said.