Committee reviews Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs budget; Roseburg home match remains contingent on federal grant

The Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Transportation and Economic Development held an informational hearing on Feb. 26 to review House Bill 5038, the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs (ODVA) budget bill. ODVA Director Dr. Nikia Council Daniels and agency staff presented a governor’s recommended budget of approximately $612 million across all fund types and answered committee questions on home loan originations, the Roseburg Veterans Home match, and expansions funded by Measure 96 lottery dollars.

The hearing matters because ODVA’s budget funds direct services to more than a quarter-million veterans in Oregon, operates two veterans homes and a home loan program that supplies much of the agency’s operating revenue, and seeks state matching funds needed to secure a federal State Veterans Home Construction Grant for Roseburg.

Director and agency overview

Dr. Nikia Council Daniels, director of the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs, told the subcommittee the governor’s recommended 2025-27 budget “reflects the state’s continued commitment to delivering essential benefits, programs, and services that support Oregon’s more than quarter million veterans and their families.” She said ODVA’s request covers operations, home loan functions, veterans homes, appeals and special advocacy, strategic partnerships, and aging veteran services.

Daniels and Chief Financial Officer Nicole Dolan explained that about 62% of the proposed total is “nonlimited” other funds tied to the home loan and veterans homes programs. The agency is requesting a programmatic operating budget (excluding nonlimited debt service and the Roseburg…