Viewpoint: Veterans deserve answers, not excuses
On October 31st, a Billings Veteran opened his inbox to find the unthinkable: his military retirement benefits were “on hold until the federal government is no longer shut down.”
This is absolutely unacceptable. Where would our country be without our Veterans? We ask them to sacrifice so much, and they do it without asking much in return, but now, when it is our government’s turn to thank them, to pay them back for their service, this is the response they get right before we as a country celebrated Veteran’s Day. We must and can do so much better.
Active-duty service members already missed their October 15th paycheck due to the shutdown. But veterans were promised that their VA disability, pension, and GI Bill payments were safe. So why did Dan Struckman’s retirement benefits suddenly vanish? And how many other Montana veterans are facing the same uncertainty?
Mr. Struckman reached out to his U.S. Senators, Tim Sheehy and Steve Daines, for help. He received no answers. Silence is not leadership; it is abandonment.
“No veteran should ever have to wonder if their retirement check will arrive. These benefits are earned, not optional,” said Rep. Marc Lee, Vice Chair of the State Administration and Veterans Affairs Committee.
We demand immediate transparency from federal agencies and accountability from Montana’s congressional delegation. Veterans should not be caught in bureaucratic limbo while bills pile up and families struggle.
This is not a partisan issue. It is a moral one. When citizens put on the uniform, they are promised that their service will be honored, not just with words, but with action. That promise is broken when Veterans are left without the benefits they earned.
Montana’s Veterans deserve better. They deserve leaders who will fight for them, not leave them in the dark. We urge our federal representatives to step up, investigate this failure, and ensure that no veteran in Montana, or anywhere else, ever faces this kind of uncertainty again.
When Veterans are forced to wonder if their retirement check will arrive, it is not just a failure of government. It is a failure of honor.
By Rep. Marc Lee (Vice Chair), Sen. Jacinda Morigeau, Rep. Kelly Kortum, and Rep. Peter Strand - members of the State Administration and Veterans Affairs Interim Committee