Ohio veteran service organizations ask legislature for higher operating support, more service officers

Representatives of Ohio’s major veteran service organizations told the House Public Safety Committee on Feb. 11 that state appropriations for those organizations should be increased to hire accredited service officers, expand transportation to VA appointments and sustain outreach to undercounted veterans.

Jacob Brault, legislative chair for the American Legion Department of Ohio, said the Legion uses most of its state funding for department service officers who file VA claims and help veterans access benefits. “We have over 72,000 members,” Brault told the committee, and he said the organization’s department service officers helped secure roughly $1,300,000 in awards in 2024.

Several organizations cited workloads that surged after the PACT Act. David Root, legislative chairman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of Ohio, told members that the first year after the PACT Act’s passage the VA processed roughly 1,650,000 veterans’ claims nationally and that the resulting workload has increased demand for accredited service officers. Root said the VFW currently has seven accredited service officers in Ohio located in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Dayton and that the organization would like increased funding to place a full‑time accredited service officer in Columbus.

“The VFW is one of the 13 veteran service organizations named in the biannual operating budget,” Root said. He urged the committee to consider raising the VFW subsidy from $450,000 to $475,000 to offset cost‑of‑living increases and to fund a Columbus service officer.

Other groups described how state funding is currently used and what additional support would buy. The Military Order of the Purple Heart said a 20% reduction in 2021 forced it to cut a service officer at the Cincinnati VA hospital; the Vietnam Veterans of America — Buckeye State Council reported operating a one‑man Cleveland VSO office that processed 271 claims in 2024 and said its VSO program costs approximately $125,000 annually; and the Disabled American Veterans described placing hospital transportation vans around the state with state‑appropriated funds.

Michael Stiff, adjutant of the Disabled American Veterans, told the committee that DAV and other VSOs contributed to claims that amounted to billions in federal awards over the prior two fiscal years and argued the state appropriation yields a high return on investment. “The return on your investment is immense,” he said.

Witnesses and lawmakers discussed ways to distribute increases. Merle Pratt, a long‑time VSO leader testifying for several organizations, described an approach used in a past budget cycle: apply a uniform percentage increase tied to cost‑of‑living adjustments (for example, a 6% increase) across organizations so smaller groups receive proportional increases without reworking the entire funding table.

Speakers also raised outreach and demographic concerns. Testimony noted undercounting of women veterans and veterans of color, limited local VA specialty care in parts of northwest Ohio (including gynecological care cited in Toledo’s community clinic), and obstacles to capturing veterans who are not connected to the VA or to veterans organizations. Several witnesses urged investments in county service offices and accredited service officers because those offices are the front line for filing claims that bring federal benefits into Ohio.

No formal budget votes were taken at the hearing. Witnesses submitted written testimony and committee members indicated they will continue budget deliberations; some lawmakers said they would pursue targeted increases for accredited service officers and operating support in the coming appropriations process.