While statutory adjournment is quickly approaching, legislative committees continue to hold public hearings and work bills. We continue to do the work we were sent to Augusta to do.
In the Transportation Committee, we recently heard from the Maine Department of Transportation about their finalized report, “Transportation Needs of Maine’s Veterans.” This report came from a study in the 127th Legislature to determine the transportation needs of Maine’s veterans.
A major finding of the report is that only about 56,000 of Maine’s 117,000 veterans, roughly 48 percent, are participating in the VA health system. That means over half of Maine’s veterans are not receiving the services they have earned and deserve. While some may actively choose not to participate in the system, it is likely that the majority are just unable to make it to Togus, Maine’s VA facility, or one of the 11 Outreach Clinics located throughout the state. If we are able to take this report and increase the participation in the VA system by even 10 percent, then that would have a real impact on the health and wellbeing of Maine’s veterans.
The report also found that 50-70 veterans each year are unable to reach a state career center due to transportation problems. Maine has 12 career centers located across the state in Springvale, Portland, Lewiston, Wilton, Brunswick, Rockland, Augusta, Skowhegan, Bangor, Machias, Calais, and Presque Isle. These career centers are part of the Maine Department of Labor and serve as resources for job seekers, including job fairs and training programs. Most of Maine’s career centers have veterans’ employment representatives on staff to help connect veterans with employment opportunities.
The report recommends establishing a 30 month pilot program in Oxford, Franklin and Androscoggin Counties. These counties were chosen in part for their network of veteran’s service organizations as well as an established transportation provider in the region. The pilot program has a primary goal of providing transportation services to veterans, with a secondary goal of data collection in order to address the transportation needs of veterans across Maine.
In addition to medical and career center transportation needs, the pilot program would also include transportation for job training, court appearances, general transportation for homeless veterans and mental health services.
This bill to establish the pilot program as recommended by the report will be before the Transportation Committee for public hearing and work session shortly. I support this pilot project because it has the potential to help thousands of Maine veterans access critical transportation services, but it could also serve as a model for how to provide public transportation to Mainers generally, particularly low-income Mainers and our seniors who often struggle to find transportation for basic needs. If you are interested in following the process of this bill, I would be happy to keep you up to date on proceedings.
As always, please feel free to contact me with your questions and concerns. Hearing your thoughts on legislation and issues both in our district and across the state is crucial to what we do at the State House.
Rep. Andrew McLean, D-Gorham, is serving his third term in the Maine House. He is House chair of the Transportation Committee and represents parts of both Gorham and Scarborough.
(207) 939-8482 | (800) 423-2900 | andrew.mclean@legislature.maine.gov