politics

When legislators raised concerns about how money from the Support Our Troops license plates were being used, they raised some eyebrows and a lot of ire.

State officials and veterans groups feared undue scrutiny of the program could mean that fewer people would pay the extra $30 for the plates, which feature an eagle in front of a flowing American flag.

Money from the plates -- an estimated $930,000 last year -- is split between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Military Affairs. Veterans Affairs people defended their hiring of a staff member from Gov. Tim Pawlenty's office during a legislative hearing this week, pointing to outreach she had done with under-served veterans communities. With hats mightily visible, representatives from several veterans groups made it clear they did not appreciate the criticism.

For its part, the Department of Military Affairs -- which is largely the Minnesota National Guard -- files a report each year to the Legislature about how it spends the money it is given. By state law, the money is to go to help deployed military members and their families or troops who are recently back from service.

A group called the Minnesota Military Family Foundation administers the funds. Last year, of the 163 requests, 121 met the requirements and $197,706 in Support Our Troop money was distributed. An additional $32,857 was paid using foundation funds from private donations. Mortgage and rent payments topped the list, with nearly 60 requests. Vehicle repair accounted for 15 requests and general bill paying/special needs requests came in at 27, according to the report.

"When people are deployed, maybe they're getting paid less than they normally would get, so the budgets are much tighter," said Eric Ahlness, Minnesota National Guard director of government relations. "When something unexpected like a water heater goes out, that's when this comes in. To help them so it doesn't become a crisis."

Mark Brunswick • 612-673-4434