U.S. Senator Gary Peters today applauded federal funding for State Veterans Home in Marquette, Michigan to prevent and respond to the spread of COVID-19. The facility will receive a total of $662,174.60. Peters helped pass this funding as part of the government funding bill enacted into law in December.
“Michigan’s veterans have given so much for our country, and we have an obligation to care for them after they complete their service,” said Senator Peters, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “This federal funding will help the State Veterans Home in Marquette with costs associated with COVID-19 so they can continue serving our state’s veterans.”
State Veterans Homes are facilities that are operated by state governments and partner with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide nursing home, domiciliary and adult day care services to veterans with special medical needs, including thousands of elderly veterans.
Peters has long been an advocate in Congress for Michigan’s servicemembers and veterans. He has led bipartisan efforts to secure robust funding for the VA State Home Construction Grant Program. Last month, legislation he cosponsored to ensure servicemembers and their families can get free COVID-19 vaccines through the VA was enacted into law. In January, Peters’ bipartisan bill to strengthen transparency and communication for veterans and caregivers participating in the VA’s caregiver program was enacted into law.
Additionally, Peters’ bipartisan provision was signed into law to help veterans who may have erroneously given a less than honorable discharge from the military due to negative behavior resulting from mental traumas such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Also, Peters’ bipartisan legislation to expand apprenticeship opportunities for veterans and allow them to use their GI bill benefits toward securing a registered apprenticeship was signed into law last year. Furthermore, Peters fought for and helped secure in the national defense bill that was enacted in January, a measure to expand the Department of Veterans’ Affairs list of medical conditions associated with Agent Orange exposure to include Bladder Cancer, Hypothyroidism, and Parkinsonism.
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