by Kayla Owen
Virginia state Senator and Chair of the powerful Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, Louise Lucas, is known for her love of casinos, skill games, and other gambling enterprises. Her greatest political gamble may be unfolding before our eyes this week.
When Virginia’s biennial 2024-2026 budget was signed on May 13, 2024, just two-weeks before Memorial Day, Virginia’s veteran community discovered language hidden within the budget bill (SB/HB 6001) that gutted the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program or VMSDEP. VMSDEP is a longstanding state tuition waiver program for the surviving family members of soldiers killed or missing in action and military veterans left severely disabled from their service. The recent cuts to VMSDEP constitute the largest rollback of Veterans Benefits in Virginia’s history — a state that supposedly is committed to being the most Veteran-friendly in the country.
Facing public outrage over the surprise cuts, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, publicly announced their commitment to a full repeal and restoration of VMSDEP to its pre-March 13th language. Standing in the way of righting this wrong is Louise Lucas.
The Senate finance chair flat out refused Tuesday to entertain a bipartisan bill that would reverse the cuts. She appears hellbent on betting her political future as well as the democrats’ razor-thin majority in the House and Senate on this latest political stunt. Virginia’s over 700,000 veterans, Gold Star survivors, and First Responders are monitoring her every move.
The public outrage over the surprise changes to VMSDEP extends beyond Virginia’s military veteran community. Heading into Tuesday’s Senate hearings, the Virginia State Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) sent a letter urging the General Assembly and Governor Youngkin to restore VMSDEP while expressing concern that Lucas might attempt to hijack the scheduled June 18th reconvene session to push her controversial “skill” gambling machine agenda.
The FOP’s concerns, combined with Youngkin’s reluctance to entertain Lucas’ “skill games” until the VMSDEP issue is resolved, leads many Virginians to suspect that Lucas is gambling with and leveraging the livelihoods of thousands of surviving Gold Star and severely wounded veteran families in pursuit of a pet project.
The vast majority of Virginia’s political leaders realize that changes to VMSDEP were a huge mistake. Sneaking cuts to public benefits by legislating through the budget and without prior stakeholder notice and input is wrong in so many ways. A “clean repeal,” followed by a comprehensive study to inform sound recommendations heading into the regular 2025 Legislative Session is the only way to right this wrong.
Going forward, the Attorney General — in coordination with the Governor and General Assembly — must consider legal and legislative options to prevent future sneak cuts to public benefits through the budget process. Legislators must be reminded that the process of making changes to VMSDEP is not exempt from Virginia’s Administrative Process Act and related requirements for procedural due process. Additionally, Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act clearly states that, “the affairs of government are not intended to be conducted in an atmosphere of secrecy since at all times the public is to be the beneficiary of any action taken at any level of government.”
With SB 6005 Lucas proposed Sunday excluding all non-combat deaths (training accidents, suicide, etc.) as well as service members rated as 90-100% severely disabled due to non-combat related injuries. These changes disproportionately impact women and minority veterans. Heading into Tuesday’s Senate Finance meeting, the bi-partisan efforts of Senators Bryce Reeves, R-Fredericksburg, and Jeremy McPike, D-Woodbridge, SB 6006 garnered the support of several Democrat Senators as well as 19 Republicans — more than enough votes to advance their bill out of the Senate and to the House. Lucas refused to docket the bill.
Ironically, Lucas voted in 2019 to expand eligibility to the very same groups she now wants to cut from VMSDEP eligibility. She also voted in favor of forming a VMSDEP work group to study “recommendations on legislative actions and budgetary modifications that could improve the stability, strength, and long-term viability of the program.” In both cases she’s flipped her position, pulling the rug out from under her Senate colleagues and constituents. Rather than exercise proper legislative due diligence (e.g., complete programmatic study on potential VMSDEP changes and impacts and listen to stakeholder concerns), Lucas wants to jam immediate cuts to VMSDEP without fully understanding the potential adverse impacts.
Had a work group been formed in advance to thoroughly examine all data and make better informed decisions, it would have offered greater data and insight into how various communities would be adversely impacted and by how much. According to recent data from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, veteran women and people of color, in particular, will be disproportionately affected by Lucas’ proposed eligibility “fixes” to VMSDEP.
Women, for example, were not permitted in combat military occupational specialties until as late as 2016. This limits the number of combat-related disabilities among women compared to their male counterparts. Under Lucas’ proposed changes, VMSDEP is accessible only to veterans with combat- related disabilities.
Women veterans are also twice as likely as men to receive a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnosis, but not all PTSD diagnoses are related to combat. Some reports propose that as high as 84% of female service members experience some form of unwanted sexual contact during their military tenure. Research also shows that a quarter of female service members are harassed or assaulted every single year and 33% or 1-in-3 women leaving the military have experienced military sexual trauma (MST). MST often contributes to severe mental health challenges and related disability ratings. Under Senator Lucas’ proposed changes to VMSDEP, most women veterans would not qualify for VMSDEP since MST is non-combat related.
A multitude of national level studies reveal major discrepancies between post-military disability ratings, health care access and income disparities between whites and non-white veterans. The same studies often highlight characteristics of veterans such as divorce rates which double that of the general population, leaving many veterans as single parents and a disproportionately higher number of single-income mothers. For many of these single parents, the VMSDEP program is the only viable way to support sending their children off to college.
Department of Veterans Affairs data also reveals that blacks have proportionately higher rates of high disability ratings (e.g., >60%) as compared to white veterans. Additionally, while the total number of veterans are predicted to drop in the next decade, the number of minority veterans are projected to increase. See the below charts:
So, while Lucas touts being champions for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the advancement of women, blacks and other people of color, SB 6005 promises to hit these veteran communities the hardest. Additionally, many victims of MST experience PTSD and are extremely vulnerable to sudden and severe bouts of depression, substance abuse, and suicidal ideations. Abruptly cutting these veterans off without any prior notice or opportunity to be heard is already causing this highly vulnerable veteran population to spiral.
This blow to Virginia’s veterans (especially women and minority veterans) does not comport with Lucas’ stated commitment to ensuring “…that everyone can access educational opportunities and reach their full potential.” Her proposed changes to VMSDEP also runs counter to the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV)’s strategic plan, which prioritizes “equity” above all else, while mentioning it specifically over 40 times.
Ultimately, the message from Lucas and allies such as Senator Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, and Scott Surovell, D-Mount Vernon, the mental, physical, emotional, financial struggles of thousands of veterans just are not as important as the perceived fiscal health of a few “not for profit” public universities that would lose tuition revenue. This is unacceptable.
Virginians must stop Lucas’ political flip-flopping games and reckless gambling with the livelihoods of Virginia’s most vulnerable communities. Let’s all help get VMSDEP fully restored and put Virginia back on the path of becoming the most veteran friendly state in the Nation.
Kayla Owen is co-founder of VMSDEP Friends.
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