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A BLUEPRINT FOR NEW MEXICO'S FUTURE

Serving Those Who Served

Sam Bregman’s Comprehensive Plan for Veterans

The Veterans WEB

I propose a comprehensive veteran service initiative to empower our veterans and their families through four critical integrated policy areas that I call the Veterans WEB:

 

Wellness Support,

Educational advancement,

Employment and career development and

Business entrepreneurial opportunities.

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As governor, I will create this Veterans WEB to assist and support veterans, military members, and their families. This effort will focus on reintegration, self-sustainability and long-term support for veterans. This veteran empowerment initiative will be a transformative force for our nation’s heroes, delivering the tools they need to thrive after military service and into their advanced years. This integrated and innovative program will be a sustainable beacon of support, purpose, and excellence for our veteran community.

As governor, I will:

  • Support and expand mental health care, peer support groups and counseling & treatment for veterans, including those who are homeless.

  • Fund and promote holistic and other therapies for PTSD including the Angel Fire Wellness Center.

  • Develop programs to help “Vets Left behind”—those who were less than honorably discharged-- so that they don’t fall though the system, working to prevent suicide, homelessness, and incarceration.

  • Promote and fund numerous housing and homeless initiatives that give will our veterans with direct housing assistance.

  • Invest in long term services to ensure that New Mexico’s aging veterans can stay at home if possible, with relatives or other noninstitutional settings. To meet rising demand for long-term services and supports (LTSS), I will invest in the Direct Care Workforce to help our aging and disabled veterans:

  • We must recruit, train, and retain paid in home and nursing home caregivers. Our Seniors’ future depends on this. As I outlined in other policy plans.

  • Fund free CNA and DSP training programs and partner with our schools to provide training for this service work.

  • Create career ladders and credential program that can give workers a long-time career in direct care.

  • Provide transportation, childcare, and mental health counseling to support these critical services.

  • Launch public campaigns to elevate caregiving as a profession.

  • Support self-directed care models and tech-enabled home care. We must employ technology to enable as much home care as possible.

  • Provide tax credits to Community Care providers of all levels of care to include specialty care for providing care to Veterans… This will provide an incentive for community care providers to increase the number of veterans serve.

  • Provide tax incentives, loan repayment programs and other benefits for Community Care providers; this would increase community care for veterans bringing in more doctors, nurses and health care staff.

Education

Too many veterans leave the military unaware of the benefits and opportunities that are available to them. We can help the vets expand their education, and transition into the workforce and society by supporting them, educating them on their benefits, and on special veterans’ services. This means direct and aggressive outreach and education to veterans to help them navigate the complex array of benefits and services.

As governor, I will:

  • Develop a “One Stop Shop” app—a simple phone app--that every veteran can use to access state services, support offices, and benefits.

  • Direct my Public Education Department to develop veteran specific programs including: college readiness workshops, vocational training, and technology and digital skills boot-camps.

Employment

In New Mexico, there are more than 162,000 small businesses, which make up more than 95% of all NM businesses and employ over 331,000 individuals - 55% of the state’s private workforce. Approximately 16,000 (10%) of these New Mexico small businesses are veteran owned. We need to support these businesses and support all veterans who are looking to work.

As governor, I will:

  • Offer veterans training including resume building & interview coaching, LinkedIn profile building and networking.

  • Hold career fairs with veteran friendly employers and promote the Heroes hiring Heroes” program to encourage and support vet-owned businesses hiring fellow veterans and members of military families.

  • Recognize military certifications for commercial drivers, medics, and other trained military personnel to streamline their getting similar jobs in private sector.

  • Expand apprenticeships and certification programs for veterans to train them for the careers of the future.

Business

The final piece of my WEB initiative will be to promote and support veteran-owned businesses.

As governor, I will:

  • Provide “Boots to Business” training for veterans, military members, and spouses. This will include mentorship for vet entrepreneurs, and business planning and financial literacy training.

  • Improve access to capital for vet owned business.

  • Establish a veteran business incubator for veteran owned startups.

  • Support and promote the NM Veteran Chamber of Commerce.

  • Promote a series of Veterans’ Business Tax benefits including:

    • Waiving GRT for Vet owned businesses.

    • Offering tax credits to those who invest in vet owned businesses.

    • Offering tax credits for employers who employ NM Guard member when they are activated.

    • Expanding incentives/credits for businesses that hire veterans.

  • Develop state procurement efforts/incentives to help vet owned businesses do business with Sate Government.

  • Support and partner with the SBA New Mexico Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) and New Mexico Small Business Development Center (NMSBDC), which offer support for veteran entrepreneurs.

  • Expand outreach and education through our veteran’s service offices.

Making the WEB work

In order to implement my WEB policies in an effective and comprehensive matter, As governor, I will: stress coordination and collaboration, and work to maximize the benefits available to veterans.

 

Cabinet Level Veterans Service Task Force and Community Partnerships

As governor, I will:

  • Create an integrated multi-agency task force comprised of several of my Cabinet Secretaries –including Health, Aging and Long-Term Services, Economic Development, Education, and others to work with the NM Dept of Veteran Services Cabinet Secretary and agency staff to give our veterans and their families the opportunities and services they have earned.

  • Direct this task force to develop and strengthen existing partnerships with the VA, Universities and local city governments and businesses to implement the Veteran’s WEB agenda.

Leverage VA investments

NM Veterans receive $2.2 Billion in annual federal expenditure for compensation & pensions, education and training, medical care, and other VA benefits, and they spend those dollars in their communities, supporting their families and our economy. However, only 35% of the Vet population are receiving their earned benefits. 65% of our veterans need to file for the state and federal benefits that they have earned. As Governor, I will work to educate and assist these vets to file for the federal VA and state benefits. This will help these vets and their families while bringing millions of federal funds to NM to help support and stimulate our economy. Furthermore, I will work to partner with the VA to leverage even more direct funding.

As governor, I will:

  • Invest in Community Base Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) and partner with VA to build assisted living care facilities for our aging veteran population (NM vet pop over age of 60+ 95,196). With the federal VA providing 65% of this funding, NM can leverage this money to serve even more of our veterans.

  • Expand outreach and education through our veteran’s service officers.

  • Support the establishment of the Code Talker Museum.

  • Support the establishment of a Veteran’s Museum Education Center and recognize our Medal of Honor recipients and other NM heroes.

  • Support the $100 Million National VA Cemetery scheduled to be built on Albuquerque’s West Side with the closure of the National Vet Cemetery in Santa Fe by 2030.

“A nation reveals itself not only by the men and women it produces, but also by the men and women it honors. The men and women it remembers.”

- President, John F. Kennedy

 

It has been recorded that from the beginning of our country, over 40 million soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen have participated in our countries wars - and, of that number, 23 million are living and more than one million have died in combat. We need to always remember them.

 

Throughout the state of New Mexico, there are over 175,000 veterans that share a unique and rich military legacy of honor and service to our nation that dates back several generations.

 

It is our duty as New Mexicans, and it will be my duty as governor, to honor the service and sacrifice of every veteran in our State.

 

As governor, I will fight to ensure that veterans and their family members can successfully transition back to civilian life upon their discharge from military service with dignity and purpose.

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