Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is proposing to re-establish federal funding for the Martha’s Vineyard veterans counseling program that recently learned it would lose a decades-long contract with the Department of Veteran Affairs.
On Friday, Warren announced on the U.S. Senate floor her plans to file amendments to a bill of tax breaks and spending cuts being advanced by Senate Republicans. Staff with Sen. Warren confirmed with the Times that an amendment would include funding for the Vineyard counseling program.
“When we make it hard for our veterans to get the care that helps them recover from war trauma, we’re breaking our promise to them,” Warren said in a statement to the Times. “I’m fighting to keep funding this critical care program on Martha’s Vineyard to support the veterans who put their lives on the line to defend our country.”
In her amendment, Warren is looking to restore the roughly $80,000 for Martha’s Vineyard Community Services’ “Readjustment Counseling for War Veterans” program and other services lost by federal funding cuts. The local program provides one-on-one and group counseling for veterans returning from war.
Warren’s proposed amendment comes as the VA announced last month it would not be renewing the contract with the Vineyard nonprofit, a move that was met with criticism and outrage from Island veterans, and then lambasted by Massachusetts’ top elected officials.
The senator’s amendment is for a bill that Senate Republicans unveiled on Wednesday, which Warren and other Democrats argued provided tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of average Americans. The bill is up for debate on Friday.
Still, this isn’t a guarantee of federal funding for the Island program, and Island officials have already begun fundraising to offset any losses.
Dean Teague, CEO of Martha’s Vineyard Community Services and U.S. Navy Medical Corps veteran, said he was glad the word was getting out after hearing about Warren’s proposed amendment. Teague said the nonprofit “does not intend to close the program” even with the VA pulling its support, and that people have already donated to the counseling program.
“Our goal is to be funded for at least next year,” Teague said. He said the “dollar figures” will need to be analyzed more closely and he said funding will be pulled from other Community Services’ operations for the counseling program if necessary.
The VA has stated in March that the over 500 contracts it terminated were “non-mission-critical or duplicative.” Gary Kunich, deputy director of the VA’s Office of Media Relations, said not renewing the Vineyard contract will save the department around $78,000 in the coming year.
“The contract currently serves fewer than 30 veterans, mostly through virtual means, and VA determined it is more cost effective to serve these veterans in-house,” Kunich said. “We have communicated this change with the affected veterans, who will be counseled by Vet Center staff.”
Teague said while Community Services does offer some virtual offerings, many Island veterans attend the nonprofit’s programs in person. Additionally, the closest Vet Centers require a boat ride over to the mainland, which several Vineyard veterans have said is a burden.
“There’s no services for the VA on the Island,” Teague said.
A staff member of Warren’s office has also reached out to the nonprofit, and Teague said they plan to respond soon.
