We owe our liberty to the courageous veterans who put their country before themselves. The enormous sacrifice of our veterans and their families is a debt we can never fully repay.

Unfortunately, thousands of Michigan veterans do not know what is available to them, think they missed the opportunity to apply years ago or are unaware that they are even eligible for benefits. Five years ago, Michigan ranked last among the states in terms of how much the federal Department of Veterans Affairs spent on benefits per veteran.

That was unacceptable, and I am proud that we have made significant strides to express our deep appreciation for the service of Michigan’s veterans in a real, meaningful way.

The state’s two-year-old Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) is dedicated to improving customer service to the more than 660,000 military veterans in our state.

One role the MVAA can play is helping connect veterans with an accredited veterans service officer (VSO) who can assist them in filling out and submitting benefits claims.

I encourage all Michigan veterans to make sure they are receiving the benefits they have earned by visiting www.michigan.gov/veterans or by calling 1-800-MICH-VET.

Southwest Michigan veterans can also contact a local veterans services office: Berrien County Veteran Services at (269) 983-7111 Ext. 8224 or llull@berriencounty.org; the Cass County Veteran Affairs Department at (269) 445-4472 or tomg@cassco.org; and St. Joseph County Veteran Affairs at (269) 467-551 or summeys@stjosephcountymi.org.

Accredited VSOs are a great resource for veterans, because they have been trained to help collect needed documentation and apply for federal benefits.

One of the reasons Michigan is better connecting veterans with their benefits is a renewed emphasis on submitting fully developed claims. Fully developed claims are processed more quickly, which reduces the time between submitting a claim and receiving a decision.

Prior to MVAA’s launch in 2013, only 7 percent of claims were fully developed. That number is now 42 percent!

Getting a benefits checkup is important for every Michigan veteran. It can help make sure that our veterans are up to date on the benefits they earned through their service to America.

 

Sen. John Proos, R-St. Joseph, represents Southwest Michigan.