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Appropriations committee hears multiple veterans and defense funding requests, including $49M veterans home proposal
Summary
Officials and nonprofit leaders briefed the Executive Appropriations Committee on a suite of veterans- and defense-related requests: Blue Star Families asked for $100,000, Weber State and partners sought $1.1M for an operational SCIF campus facility, the Utah Golf Foundation requested $40,000 for a veterans program, and the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs asked for $49M to replace the Salt Lake veterans home.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Executive Appropriations Committee on Tuesday heard a series of presentations and funding requests centered on veterans, the military and defense-related economic development.
Marcy Valdez, executive director of Blue Star Families Utah, asked the committee to consider a $100,000 allocation through the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs to expand local programming and outreach to active-duty, reserve, National Guard and veteran families. “At Blue Star Families, we believe that when we invest in military families, we cultivate stronger communities and a more resilient force and a better future for all of us,” Valdez told the committee.
Senator Milner and university and industry partners presented a plan tied to Falcon Hill and Hill Air Force Base to grow Utah’s aerospace and defense cluster. Mark Halverson, vice president at Weber State University, described existing facilities such as the Mars Center and a proposed secure facility (SCIF) and an accompanying Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Production to train students, support applied research and enable small businesses to compete for Department of Defense projects. Halverson said the campus already hosts hypersonics and high-temperature materials work and asked the committee to consider an ongoing $1.1 million state contribution to cover programmatic and operational costs; he described the overall project as roughly $60 million.
Megan Huntsman, representing the Utah Golf Foundation’s Veterans on Course program, told the panel the free program provided instruction, camaraderie and referral partnerships (including with the Salt Lake VA recreational therapy team). “We had 580 participants this year over 10 different events,” Huntsman said, and requested $40,000 to continue the program.
Gary Harder, executive director of the Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs, presented the department’s annual report and a capital request to replace the Salt Lake veterans home. Harder said the state’s veterans, military and related contractors generate about $22.2 billion in economic impact and estimated roughly 130,000 veterans live in Utah. He asked the committee to consider a $49 million appropriation to replace an aging Salt Lake facility; Harder said the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs would reimburse about $35 million of that cost and that replacing the home would move residents to private rooms and reduce recurring maintenance costs.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about the scope of the Weber State/SCIF project, security clearance requirements for SCIF access and partnerships with Hill Air Force Base; presenters said a SCIF is a highly secure facility with strict physical and cybersecurity requirements that allow sensitive defense work and cleared personnel on site. No formal appropriations were adopted at the meeting; the requests were presented for the committee’s consideration as part of the budget process.
The committee then continued with other agenda items including a federal rural health grant briefing and a base-budget overview.
