Today the Senate passed the final Veterans budget agreement that includes a handful of beneficial policies for veterans, including provisions that combat veteran homelessness and additional funding for Veterans homes in Montevideo, Bemidji, and Preston. 

Unfortunately, the positives are outweighed by a controversial provision involving those who served in the Special Guerilla Units (SGUs) during the Secret War is Laos. This bill’s language creates an advisory task force that will establish criteria for determining which Minnesotans served in the special guerrilla units or with the irregular forces in Laos, and will establish criteria to decide which of those individuals are qualified to receive the benefits of a veteran under Minnesota law. This means that those who are deemed “deserving” will now receive benefits traditionally reserved for veterans, including the “veteran designation” on drivers’ licenses, grave markers, and burials in state veteran cemeteries.  

“Our veterans have given so much to our country, and by giving other non-American soldiers the same benefits they receive, it is a slap in the face of all they’ve done to protect our freedoms and serve our country,” said Senator Nathan Wesenberg (R-Little Falls). “We don’t want to discredit the work they did – we appreciate their sacrifices and what it meant for war efforts in Vietnam. But they were rewarded – they were allowed to come to America and become American citizens. The benefits being extended to them by today’s bill are not currently extended to every National Guard or Reserve soldier. Many of our veterans are upset about this and feel like it flies in the face of their service. We can’t even take care of our own veterans, so why are we extending benefits to those who already received the reward they were promised? We need to do better.”