By creating a new state-level Department of Veterans Affairs, House Bill 1 aims to increase opportunities for advocacy on behalf of the thousands of Delaware veterans who have sacrificed and fought for our freedom and safety. This bill is a bipartisan effort sponsored by Representative Carson in the House and co-sponsored by Senate Democrats Nicole Poore and Kyra Hoffner.
The Department of Veterans Affairs would be led by a cabinet-level Secretary with the current staff of the Delaware Commission of Veterans Affairs and the Office of Veterans Affairs continuing their work as part of the new Department. Employees of the Department in supervisory positions are required to be veterans. For non-supervisory and casual/seasonal positions, non-veterans may be hired when a qualified veteran is not available. The new Department is tasked with developing and proposing strategies for the provision of alternative elder care or the establishment of one or more additional veterans homes to serve the aging veteran population.
The bill is currently under review in the House appropriations committee.