1. The Military / Veterans Coalition Of Indiana TMVCIwww.inmilcoal.org

2. 2016 IN General Assembly and the upcoming elections as they relate to our military, veterans, surviving spouses, and their families by BG Jim Bauerle, USA (Ret.)

3. 2015s Best & Worst States for Military Retirees officer age 47.1 years old Average officer age 47.1 years old Enlisted personnel even younger at 43.2 Enlisted personnel even younger at 43.2 Most re-enter the job market. must also deal with assimilation, Rising numbers of young vets encounter hardship and homelessness.encounter hardship and homelessness Military retirement – Complicated – state tax policies – the relative friendliness of different job – and a variety of other important socioeconomic factors.

4. 2015s Best & Worst States for Military Retirees WalletHub WalletHub took 20 key metrics into account in devising its rankings. Best 10Best 10 – Wyoming, Montana, S. Dakota, Maine, Florida, New Hampshire, Alaska, N. Dakota, Oklahoma, So. Carolina Worst 10- and dead last INDIANAWorst 10- Oregon, Illinois, Connecticut, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Utah, DC, Rhode island, and dead last INDIANA

5. Question for elected Officials? What is your level of government doing to keep and grow our veteran population? What are you doing to move Hamilton County and Indiana from being the LAST place a retiring service member should live?

6. Geographic Distribution of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs Expenditures (GDX) Analysis of the 2014 GDX file 476,283IN rank 16 th in vet population with 476,283 Down by 14,097 from 2013Down by 14,097 from 2013 2013 population was 490,380. 2012 population was 498,944.

7. Geographic Distribution of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs Expenditures(G DX) $2,616,327,000.00 The total expenditures paid to veterans who are Indiana residence is $2,616,327,000.00 up from $2,420,052,000.00. This is an increase of $196,274,641.00.

8. Geographic Distribution of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs Expenditures(G DX) target of 36% The Department of Veterans Affairs, in FY08, established a target of 36% of the veteran population should receive VA benefits and services. Indiana has 27.15% Indiana has 27.15% of Hoosiers receiving these same benefits in FY14. 15.93% Hamilton County has 15.93%

9. Geographic Distribution of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs Expenditures(G DX) 42,15442,154 Hoosier Veterans are needed to get to the 36% mark! THIS IS $853 MILLION LOST this last year alone! THIS IS $853 MILLION LOST this last year alone!

10. Geographic Distribution of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs Expenditures(G DX) Assuming that 9.8 cents of every dollar spent goes to Indiana taxes and the velocity of money of 5; = $417,925,650.70. Indiana missed out on $419 MILLION in taxes for last year.

11. Question for elected Officials? What is your level of government doing to insure our veterans get the benefits they earned by their service? Hamilton County has over 17,000 veterans and is the 5 th largest veteran population of the 92 counties. Why is Hamilton County LAST (92 nd ) in veterans benefits received with only 16% of the vets earning benefits?

12. Outside Evaluation of the IN Dept Of Veterans Affairs (IDVA) Concluded Dec. 5, 2014 Done by Public Consulting Group, Inc. -- Human Services 16 weeks in duration Assessed organizational structure and business operations for improvement 21 SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS

13. Outside Evaluation of the IDVA Exhibit 4: Spending per state Exhibit 4: Spending per state State Vet Pop Operating VetAffairsVets /Dollars (2013 GDX) Budget 13 FTStaff**State FTESpent per Vet Texas 1,667,740 $31.17 380  4,389 $ 18.69 No. Carolina 769,384 $6.60 67 11,483 $ 8.58 Tennessee 521,267 $4.70 54 9,653 $ 9.02 Missouri 497,874 $7.95 N/A N/A $ 15.97 Indiana 490,379 $1.80 8 61,297 $ 3.67 Alabama 414,963 $12.20 N/A N/A $ 29.40 Oregon 322,355 $5.86 29 11,116 $ 18.18 Nebraska 138,773 $1.14 14 9,912 $ 8.21 Maine  127,694 $2.60 31 4,119 $ 20.36  Estimate of Texas positions from agency org-chart |  Maine data includes veterans home and veterans’ cemetery *Does not include veterans’ homes expenditures| **Does not include county veteran service officers (CVSOs) and veterans cemetery staff

14. Question for elected Officials? According to Rand Corporation 30+% of Vietnam and Gulf War veterans suffer from TBI- PTS. The VA treats with DRUGS! DRUGS don’t repair these broken brains! IN has an obligation to care for the safety and wellbeing of Hoosiers. Why are legislators unwilling to fund a medical treatment that works and help prove to the Fed it works? The STATE should also be reimbursed for this care!! 50 to 70 THOUSAND 50 to 70 THOUSAND Vets suffer w/ TBI-PTS and so do their families!

15. Question for elected Officials? In IN we don’t know who are veterans are and where they live! Rep. Jerry Torr (Carmel) did a study and asked “should veterans get free drivers licenses?” No other explanation was given as to why. The response was that 60% said yes! When will IN take steps to help veterans and HOW?

16. 2016 Final Scorecard Senate had 400 Bills authored 113 passed House had 431 Bills authored 105 passed 44 Mil/Vet Bills Authored 16 survived 13 of 19 Coalition Goals were achieved in part or in total. This includes 4 OSD goals.

17. Question for elected Officials? STATE gave $42 MILLION to 3 “regional Cities” for economic development ! Not one presentation said anything about defense or veterans! ROI= UNKNOWN! In 2012 STATE spent $180K from MFRF on training and equipment. ROI= $660 MILLION as of Sep 2014!! Why aren’t we spending more with this kind of ROI?

18. Question for elected Officials? All counties are required to have an accredited CVSO yet some don’t and some only work part time! What is your level of government doing to insure adequate accredited VSOs are working to reap the HIGHEST ROI of any investment the STATE? The best bang for our tax dollar! What are the Hamilton County investments returning ?

19. 2016 General Assembly SR 27 & HR9 Resolution to tell VA to change CHOICE CARD program to allow use without restrictions of time & distance. SR 12 Urges Summer study of CVSOs. 145 Unclaimed Remains (Missing In America) 154 IN NG Funeral Allowance ($8.8k burial)

20. 2016 General Assembly 189 Identifier for Military Children 219 Expedited Licenses for Military Spouses 295 Family Relief Fund (all vets eligible) 304 Property Tax Matters (from $143k to $175k) ADDED 20% disability level and property tax relief at 50% - 100% 362 Employment of NG members on state duty in Indiana

21. 2016 General Assembly 1089 District Veterans Service Officers – similar to SB189. 1187 Stolen Valor. 1271 Child abuse or neglect in military families. 1272 Professional licensing matters.

22. 2016 General Assembly 1312 Veteran business enterprises. 1313 Hoosier Veterans. 1359 Employment of veterans as public safety officers. 1373 Employment of Veterans. (Medicaid help for AC)

23. 2016 COMMENTS “any bill with budget implications is dead!” WAYS & MEANS and APPROPRIATIONS– “any bill with budget implications is dead!” Plenty of $$$$$$ for roads and bridges!!! $126 MILLION for regional cities winners– Ft Wayne, South Bend, Evansville (no mention of veterans!!!)

24. Question for elected Officials? Hamilton County is 5 th largest vet population in STATE; still working and waiting on a Veterans Treatment Court which saves over $50K per vet entered into the program. Why doesn’t Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, and Westfield have VTCs? They have parades– parades DON”T HELP VETS! What aren’t our elected official pushing for this?

25. Question for elected Officials? At STATE we have only 17 VTCs and 11 in the works– Why? Funding requests were $1.8 M per yr increase– funded in 2015= $.5M Why hasn’t STATE sought DOJ and HHS funds? Why hasn’t STATE funded more?

26. Question for elected Officials? What are you doing to move Hamilton County and Indiana from being a VETERAN FRIENDLY STATE and not just a patriotic state?

27. Question for YOU? What are you doing to move Hamilton County and Indiana from being the LAST place a retiring service member should live? What are you doing to make Hamilton County and Indiana a VETERAN FRIENDLY COUNTY AND STATE?

28. WHAT NEXT ? -- 2017 Activate GRASS ROOTS via TMVCI & othersWWW.INMILCOAL.ORG Your Questions?