THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER HELPS TO RECOGNIZE OUR VETERANS
The month of November serves as an occasion for not just our community, but also our nation to pay tribute and recognize the service of our men and women who have served in the armed forces. Our veterans have sacrificed so much for our country and it is very important that we honor them for their invaluable service. In Texas, we have a number of programs that seek to help and assist our current and former members of the military. These various programs are spread across different Texas state agencies that ultimately work to implement and administer them.
According to a Texas state summary conducted by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, our state is home to around 1.7 million veterans. Many have chosen to stay in Texas or move to Texas from somewhere else due to the various positive programs that are in place to help assist our service members. Our state has a number of resources that are handled by a wide range of state agencies. Two primary agencies that we have set in place are the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC) and the Veterans Land Board (VLB).
The Texas Veterans Commission was established in 1927 and was originally designated as the State Service Office. It was originally tasked with assisting those veterans of the Indian wars, Spanish-American War, and World War I. The intention of creating the agency was to act as the state appointed advocate of the veterans in Texas. Today, the TVC works to try and help both current and former members of our military to secure the benefits they have rightfully earned through their service. According to the Texas Veterans Commission website, there are four program areas in which they can try and be of assistance:
• Claims Representation and Counseling serves veterans, their dependents and survivors, in all matters pertaining to veterans’ disability benefits and rights. It is the designated agency of the state of Texas to represent the State and its veterans before the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
• Veterans Employment Services offers employment services to Texas veterans and helps employers find qualified veteran job applicants. The goal of these services is to match veteran job seekers with the best employment opportunities available.
• Veterans Education Program approves all programs for Chapter 30, 33, 35, 1606, and 1607 federal educational benefits. Through an approval process, the Texas Veterans Commission ensures that institutions and employers are in compliance with federal guidelines and are qualified to provide the type of training offered.
• Texas Veterans Commission Fund for Veterans’ Assistance is a program that makes grants available to eligible charitable organizations, local government agencies, and Veterans Service Organizations that provide direct services to Texas veterans and their families.
In addition to the TVC, another program involves the Texas Veterans Land Board (VLB). The VLB was created in 1946 with the mission of administering benefits that were exclusively for our Texas veterans. Some of the programs at the VLB seek to help our service members with obtaining low interest loans on land, homes, home improvements as well as home programs to help provide long-term care services for our Texas veterans. To learn more about these programs visit Texas Veterans Land Board.
If you have questions regarding any of the information mentioned in this week’s article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. Please always feel free to contact my office if you have any questions or issues regarding a Texas state agency, or if you would like to contact my office regarding constituent services. As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).
– State Representative Todd Hunter, District 32
Rep. Hunter represents Nueces County (Part). He can be contacted at todd.hunter@house.state.tx.us or at 512-463-0672.
