A message for Maine’s veterans: Facts matter | Letter
Read all of our coverage of Maine's 2026 election or stay up to date with the latest developments through the Maine Political Report in your inbox or text messages from politics editor Kirby Wilson.
We are all tired of the political ads on repeat everywhere we turn. We should fact-check all we hear, however. Veterans, and families and friends of veterans, do not be duped by ads that indicate Sen. Susan Collins cares about veterans just because the state of Maine receives funds via the Veterans Administration. All states receive funds.
According to the VA’s FY2024 Geographic Distribution of Expenditures — including compensation/pension, education and vocational rehabilitation, insurance, loan guarantees, medical care, specially adapted housing/adaptive equipment, memorial benefits, survivors’ benefits and construction/related costs — Maine ranks 24th out of the 50 states in the average amount of funding support per resident veteran.
The figure for Maine is $17,682 per veteran. The highest figure is West Virginia at $24,395. States with higher per-veteran funding than Maine are: West Virginia, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Arkansas , North Carolina, Wyoming, Alabama, Alaska, Mississippi, Louisiana, Nevada, South Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, California, Hawaii, Tennessee, New Mexico, Nebraska, Montana, Florida and Missouri.
Susan Collins did Maine no favors with respect to veteran support. Don’t be duped by misleading ads.
Ann Werner
Camden
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Tagged: election 2026, featured letter, letter to the editor, senate 2026
