Department of Veterans Affairs proposed under new bill

A bill to create a Department of Veterans Affairs with a cabinet-level secretary was filed Dec. 19 as part of prefiled legislation before the General Assembly session begins.

House Bill 1, sponsored by Rep. William Carson, D-Smyrna, with support from Rep. Jeff Hilovsky, R-Millsboro, Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes, Rep. Stell Parker Selby, D-Milton, and Sen. Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgetown, would retain staff with the Delaware Commission of Veterans Affairs and the Office of Veterans Affairs under the new department.

The bill would require supervisory positions in the department to be filled by veterans, and for nonsupervisory, casual and seasonal positions to be filled by nonveterans only when a qualified veteran is not available.

The new department would be tasked with establishing one or more veterans homes to serve the aging veteran population, or to develop alternative elder care.

A separate bill, sponsored by Hilovsky with support from Huxtable, seeks to regulate people who receive compensation for advising or assisting with veterans benefits earned by serving this nation in the military.

The bill would not prohibit businesses or people from receiving compensation for advice given to veterans that is unrelated to veteran claims or services available from the Veterans Administration or accredited agencies. 

The bill has been assigned to the House Veterans Affairs Committee.