Ohio veterans groups ask for larger state subsidy, warn of rise in claims and urge protections against predatory claim preparers

Representatives of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Veterans (AMVETS) told the Ohio House Veterans and Military Development Committee on March 18 that state support for veteran service officers needs to rise to keep up with claim volume created by the federal PACT Act and to sustain local services.

David Root, state legislative chairman of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, told the committee that “our total claims ... was up 75%,” and said the VFW currently has seven full‑time veteran service officers in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Dayton. He said the VFW is one of four large veteran service organizations that receive a line‑item subsidy in the executive budget and that “the VFW is one of the big 4 that receives $450,000 subsidy each fiscal year.”

Why it matters: Committee members heard that the higher caseload has increased staff workload and phone traffic for organizations that assist veterans with VA claims, and that the organizations rely on state funding to operate service offices and crisis lines that serve veterans…