New Mexico Secretary of Veterans Services John Garcia says he doesn’t want across-the-board budget cuts to state agencies “laid on the back of my veterans.”
He spoke with NMPolitics.net in Washington, D.C. during a recent “Boss Lift” trip to the nation’s capitol, which was sponsored by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.
Garcia, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam, said he believes cutting back on outreach to homeless vets and reducing veteran business development would be a disservice to the more than 200,000 veterans who live in the state.
Garcia said when he took over the department, which was elevated to a cabinet level post in 2004 and has 17 field offices, its budget was less than $2 million. After administrative expenses, including salaries for 20 accredited and certified veteran service officers, there was$200,000 left for veterans, or $1 per vet. That budget has since quadrupled, but he said it still only provides $4 per veteran.
“With the recent war in Iraq and Afghanistan I’ve got an influx of new veterans — a new generation of veterans — and it’s tough to find them,” Garcia said. “Veterans just don’t walk into our office and say, ‘I want my benefits.’ We’ve got to find them. I don’t want them to wait 30 years, like I did and many Vietnam vets did. We have to be very proactive and do our outreach of services.”
Garcia said Gov. Bill Richardson told him, shortly after the special session last month, that he was disappointed that the agency was included in cuts approved by the Legislature.
“It’ difficult when you’re talking about a budget cut and my veterans are on the firing line between the legislative body and the executive,” Garcia said.
The governor has until Thursday to act on bills approved in the special session.
St. Cyr is a contributing writer for this site and a reporter at 770KKOB.com. He can be reached at peter.stcyr@gmail.com.