The Minnesota House on the floor adopted the conference committee report for Senate File 1959, the state government bill establishing a budget for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (MDVA), and repassed the bill as amended by the conference committee.

Representative Gene Bliss, the member from Beltrami and the conference committee author on the House side, moved adoption and said, “We did it. We got a lot more funding. Fortunately, we are able to fully fund our veterans homes. We restored the homelessness initiatives.” Representative Bliss asked members for a green vote and emphasized funding to staff veterans homes and suicide-prevention efforts.

Members speaking in support described several concrete provisions and priorities. Representative Hemmingson Yeager said the package expanded a funding item from $5,000,000 to $50,000,000 and stressed that funding operating adjustments to newly created veterans homes is necessary so the homes can be staffed and receive federal per-diem reimbursement. “In order to prevent any sort of federal clawback and making sure we get the federal funding that we need, we need the people in the beds,” Hemmingson Yeager said, noting a staffing threshold discussion tied to maintaining federal funding.

Representatives from both parties praised the bill’s homelessness funding and wraparound services, and several members highlighted suicide-prevention funding, food-security provisions that will work with Meals on Wheels and Lutheran Social Services, and a technical assistance coordinator for county veteran service officers (CVSOs) focused on women veterans, suicide prevention, and system-involved veterans.

Some members also criticized provisions that were omitted from the final conference report. Representative Freyberg said the report eliminated funding for the Veterans Resilience Project, an evidence-informed trauma therapy program, and called that removal “short sighted.” Multiple speakers said a separate matter — legislation aimed at regulating so-called “claim sharks” — did not make it into the final report; several members urged continuing work on that issue in a future session.

Representative Bliss moved adoption of the conference committee report; the clerk recorded 130 ayes and 0 nays. The bill was repassed as amended by the conference committee and its title was agreed to.

Discussion points recorded on the floor included recognition of the Special Guerrilla Units (SGU) and Hmong veterans, additional funding for veteran suicide prevention, restoration of homelessness initiatives and wraparound services, increased support for veterans homes (including staffing to meet federal thresholds), and continued commitments to pursue claim-shark reforms in a future session.