ND Department of Veterans Affairs outlines programs, revenue and requests equity funding and one FTE in Senate hearing

Lonnie Wongen, commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs, testified to the Senate Human Resources Committee in support of Senate Bill No. 2025 and provided an agency overview that combined program descriptions, fiscal outcomes and several budget requests.

Wongen’s testimony covered the agency’s statutory mission, grant and loan programs, the state’s highly rural transportation program, the state approving agency for GI Bill benefits, the Postwar Trust Fund and outreach items such as commemorative coins and veteran‑focused publications.

Lede: Wongen told the committee the department brings federal dollars into North Dakota at scale — including compensation, pension and medical dollars — and asked for targeted equity funding for veteran service officers and one additional full‑time equivalent position to sustain workload.

Nut graf: The commissioner listed program outputs (grants, loans, transportation trips and GI Bill approvals), described recent accomplishments (Vietnam veteran “welcome home” coins and expanded transportation), and asked the Legislature to restore one position cut in 2017 and to approve equity funding to retain trained county veterans service officers (CVSOs). He also requested modest continuing authority for ARPA-funded projects and flexibility for intern funding.

Wongen emphasized the economic impact of federal benefits administered with the department’s assistance. "Bottom line up front, North Dakota Veterans Affairs brings money into North Dakota," he said, later quantifying that every dollar invested returns about $769 to the state.

Programs and results: Wongen briefly summarized the department’s work: processing benefit claims and appeals, training and supporting CVSOs, operating a large highly rural transportation program for veterans’ medical appointments, administering a grants-and-loans program funded from the Postwar Trust Fund, managing the state approving agency that vets GI Bill programs and approving apprenticeship and on-the-job training, and distributing commemorative coins and certificates.

He gave specific activity and fiscal measures: the department processed 615 claims in the current biennium, handled about 1,300 appeals with a reported $26,921,307 in retroactive awards won for veterans, and cited roughly $1.3 billion in VA funds that flowed into North Dakota during 2022–23, including $616 million in compensation and pension and $625 million in medical spending.

Postwar Trust Fund and grants: The commissioner described the Postwar Trust Fund as a permanent fund that produces grantable earnings; he said grants and loans to veterans this biennium included 161 grants totaling $234,000 and 44 loans totaling about $125,000 to date. He also explained that a separate revolving loan fund exists for loans and that Postwar Trust Fund principal must be appropriated by the Legislature to be spent on resident-benefitting projects at the Veterans Home.

Transportation and workforce: Wongen outlined the state’s transportation programs (DAV vans, the highly rural program covering 36 counties and tribes and ARPA-funded pilot expansions). He said the highly rural program is the department’s busiest and reported that veterans-related transportation has logged more than 500,000 miles in the current biennium. He also described workforce pressures: a 30% staff reduction in 2017 followed by a 300% increase in workload, and cited an average compensation gap (roughly 34% lower) compared with comparable positions elsewhere.

Requested funding and priorities: Wongen sought the Legislature’s assistance on several specific items: - Equity funding for county veterans service officers: he requested $243,000 to raise VSO pay toward regional medians and retain staff who perform appeals and claims work that returns federal dollars to the state. - One FTE position: restore a position cut in 2017 to reach prior staffing levels and sustain appeals and benefits work. - Carryover authority for ARPA transportation funding and continuation of certain one-time projects (e.g., scanning DD‑214 records), and modest funding for interns to support outreach and web work.

He also described other initiatives: the Fisher House land acquisition (donated or purchased at federal expense, with construction by Fisher House Foundation), veterans treatment courts (stating the department supported a court in Grand Forks and is working with Cass County to establish another), the commemorative coin programs (funeral coins and a Vietnam veterans welcome-home coin funded through donations), and suicide-prevention efforts including distribution of gun locks and advocacy for 988 and coordinated statewide response.

Wongen defended the department’s performance metrics and staff outcomes: he said the department wins about 80% of appeals they take to the VA — a rate he contrasted with a lower national average — and argued that retaining trained CVSOs and appeals staff is essential to continue that work and keep federal funds flowing into the state.

Questions from senators touched on coin and grant mechanics, Postwar Trust Fund spending constraints, how county-level benefits flow into local economies, the Fisher House siting process and the department’s engagement on veteran homelessness and suicide prevention.

Ending: The committee closed the public hearing on Senate Bill No. 2025 after Wongen’s testimony; no committee vote was recorded in the transcript.