by Brian Scott-Smith CTNewsJunkie
Just before the end of the 118th session of Congress, the US Senate and House completed passage of bipartisan legislation to reform and improve the delivery of healthcare, benefits, and services at the US Department of Veterans Affairs for military veterans and their families.
The bill, called the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, is headed to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature and includes an expansion of support for housing services for veterans by increasing the VA reimbursement rate for transitional housing facilities for homeless veterans.
That help is arriving none to soon for Vince Santilli, CEO of the Bridgeport-based nonprofit Homes For The Brave that provides transitional housing for veterans.
This week, Santilli said he was appreciative of the new assistance from the federal government. However, he said the state has been falling behind and needs to do more to support its veterans despite showing big budget surpluses.
Vince Santilli, CEO of the Bridgeport-based nonprofit Homes For The Brave (Photo courtesy of Only In Bridgeport)
“This is a state that the last couple, if not more years, is experiencing record surpluses,” Santilli said. “We’re in a state that just in the last session paid down 940 million dollars in debt, which is awesome. But you know, the way I look at it, before you start paying down that much debt, you should make sure that all the people that are in need, like veterans, that have served all of us and are now experiencing homelessness, hunger, and mental health issues, that the organizations like Homes to the Brave that serve them should be receiving more support in my opinion.”
Santilli, a former banker, says that although the new federal legislation will increase “per diem compensation” to organizations like his from 115% to 133% of the local housing rate, there’s still the issue of the high costs of living and doing business in Connecticut that concerns him.
During the pandemic, organizations like his received an enhanced per diem of $85.40 for each veteran, per night, per bed. However, that subsidy was reduced back to pre-pandemic levels in May 2023 by the VA to $68.64 per night, per bed as the pandemic was deemed to have ended by the VA.
But Santilli says other costs – like utility rates and fuel costs – did not drop back to pre-pandemic levels while the per diem they get is the same amount as every other state in the nation.
He said the decrease in the per diem left his organization and its programs, based on their occupancy levels, with a shortfall of almost $400,000 – the sort of financial gap that leaves his organization on the brink of insolvency.
“Connecticut is one of the most expensive states in the country, so it’s a lot more expensive for us to operate our programs here than say in Mississippi or Wyoming or New Mexico,” Santilli said.
And with Connecticut’s homeless population increasing for the third straight year, jumping 13% from January 2023 to January 2024 according to the state’s annual point-in-time count, veterans are part of that increase. Two recent national surveys by the nonprofit SmileHub and Lending Tree put Connecticut at 50th and 47th in the nation in how friendly and caring its is to its veterans.
With the 2025 legislative session set to begin Wednesday, Santilli said, “I believe it’s a priority issue. And I don’t believe our legislators in Connecticut are prioritizing veterans at the level they should be.”
Last year, during the even-year budget adjustment session, House and Senate Democrats negotiated for more funding for numerous programs and services, and advocated for changes to the state’s fiscal guardrails to fund them. House and Senate Republicans argued against any such changes despite constituents crowding into the Capitol and Legislative Office Building on a daily basis to advocate for more funding.
But once the remaining funds from the American Rescue Plan Act were allocated, the Lamont administration highlighted the fact that the biennial budget already included funding increases across the board. The Appropriations Committee’s Democrat co-chairs, Sen. Cathy Osten and Rep. Toni Walker agreed with Gov. Ned Lamont and opted not to make any budget adjustments.
Legislative Democrats then went on to win veto-proof majorities on Nov. 5 in both chambers of the General Assembly.