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Debate over using Nebraska Veterans Aid Fund for budget gaps plays out in Appropriations hearing

Nebraska Legislature Appropriations Committee · February 17, 2026

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Summary

Director John Hilgert told the committee the governor’s budget proposes a temporary $2.5M/yr draw from the Nebraska Veterans Aid Fund for veterans homes operations; county service officers, American Legion and VFW opposed using the fund’s principal, warning it would shrink earnings for emergency veteran assistance.

The Appropriations Committee heard extended testimony about the proposed use of the Nebraska Veterans Aid Fund in the governor’s mid‑biennium budget. John Hilgert, director of the Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs, said the administration supports using $2.5 million from the fund in each of FY26 and FY27 to shore up veterans homes and related services, and described planned efficiency improvements at the Central Nebraska Veterans Home. Hilgert emphasized the request is time‑limited to two years and that the fund’s growth makes the draw manageable.

Multiple county veteran service officers and veterans organizations opposed the proposal. Mark Lakamp, Lancaster County Veterans Service Officer and chair of the Nebraska Veterans Council, said tapping the fund to address general fund shortfalls “is outside both the historical and statutory intent” and warned that reducing principal would lower annual interest income used for emergency assistance. Representatives of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars echoed that concern, pointing to previous transfers and saying repeated use of the fund risks creating a harmful precedent. County officers offered concrete examples of how the fund is used for emergency needs — burials, utility assistance, extermination and vehicle repairs — and argued those services would be at risk if principal were reduced.

Director Hilgert and committee members discussed historical yields, typical annual disbursements (training examples suggested statewide spending in the low millions annually), and the fund’s governance. Hilgert said historic disbursements have been variable and that current corpus and interest income projections were driving the department’s proposal; opponents countered that rising applications and increased need argue against using the corpus for recurring budget items. The hearing concluded with written positions recorded and no committee action reported at the session.