ND Veterans Affairs tells appropriators claims surge, seeks staff and operating funds

At an Appropriations - Human Resources Division budget hearing, Lonnie Wong, Commissioner of Veterans Affairs for North Dakota, told committee members the department is facing a marked increase in claims and is seeking additional staff and operating funds to meet rising workload.

Wong told the committee that "the claimant appeals are gonna eat up the most of this," and that two recent federal developments — the Blue Water Navy changes and the PACT Act — have sharply increased the number and complexity of claims coming to the state office. He said the office has moved to a model that relies heavily on county veteran service officers for frontline work and that contacts routed through county offices have increased.

The increase in claims, Wong said, is not just more issues per claim but more veterans coming forward. He estimated "at least 40% more people coming in" since federal outreach and recent law changes, and told lawmakers his office has not kept pace with that rise in workload.

Why it matters: committee members pressed for details on how the workload and funding interact because the department has reduced staffing since 2017 and relies on a mix of state general funds, federal program dollars and grant administrative fees to cover salaries and operating costs. Committee members noted the department had cut three positions in 2017, regained two, and is requesting one additional…