VA’s St. Paul Regional Office covers western half of the United States

By Tim Engstrom
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs St. Paul Regional Office Assistant Directors Mike Lee and Jessica Gillette brief veteran service organizations and state staff on Tuesday, Dec. 3.

FORT SNELLING — As of October, 115,172 Minnesota veterans or their survivors received a monthly VA benefit. That comes to $166 million a month. For the year, the total is $1.99 billion.

Nationally, the VA processed $187 billion in benefits to 6.7 million veterans and survivors for the federal fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. It processed more than 2.5 million claims, surpassing last year’s record.

The VA achieved a grant rate of 64.1 percent. The average overall disability rating granted to veterans is 70 percent.

These figures come from a briefing members of the Minnesota Commanders’ Task Force received on Tuesday, Dec. 3, from the St. Paul Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Commonly called the RO, it is in the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on the unincorporated territory Minnesotans call Fort Snelling.

Assistant Director Jessica Gillette gave the report along with fellow Assistant Director Kyle Lee.

The RO has five divisions: Veterans Service Center, Pension Management Center, Benefit Eligibility Support Team, Support Services Division and Veteran Readiness & Employment.

Gillette shared, via slideshow, that the Veterans Service Center completed 56,612 rating claims, the Pension Management Center completed 36,650 rating and 86,685 non-rating claims, the Benefit Eligibility Support Team completed 128,392 non-rating claims, Support Services’ Committee on Waivers & Compromises completed 11,805 waiver decision and Veteran Readiness & Employment completed 222 job-ready decisions.

The RO employs the equivalent of 942 full-time employees. Of those, 51.3 percent are veterans, Gillette said.

It is one of 56 VA Regional Offices.

The Minnesota Commanders’ Task Force comprises veteran service organizations and Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs leaders. Often, a policy aide from the Governor’s Office will attend, too.

PACT Act

“The PACT Act is the biggest expansion of veteran health care and benefits in generations,” Gillette said.

Since it was signed into law in August 2024, the VA nationally has received 2.1 million PACT Act-related claims and processed 1.8 million of them, with a grant rate of 74.5 percent, she said. More than $8 billion has been awarded in backdated benefits.

Veteran Service Center

This is the division that processes compensation benefit claims and special mission claims. Of the 56,612 claims completed in fiscal year 2024, 2,331 were completed above the “outstanding target” level. St. Paul ranked 17th in the nation out of the 56 ROs.

Lee said the center is on track for fiscal 2025 to outpace 2024.

VASP

Many in attendance were interested in the Veteran Serving Purchase Program, a federal effort to help eligible veterans facing foreclosure on their VA-guaranteed home loans. Also called VASP for Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase, it provides a fixed 2.5 percent interest rate for the remainder of the loan.

Loan servicers were expected to come into compliance with this guidance by Oct. 1, Gillette said.

PMC

St. Paul RO is one of three Pension Management Centers in the nation, Lee said. The other two are in Milwaukee and Philadelphia. St. Paul handles Minnesota and all states west of the Mississippi River.

The St. Paul PMC also is the site for Blue Water Navy survivor claims, regardless of jurisdiction. St. Paul has paid retroactive BWN payments totaling over $260 million since Jan. 1, 2020.

COWC

There are many aspects of the veterans world to navigate. Among them is the work done by the RO’s Support Services Division.

The St. Paul RO is one of three with a Committee on Waivers and Compromises, or COWC. The others are in Milwaukee and Buffalo. Buffalo handles education debts. St. Paul and Milwaukee have jurisdiction over debt waivers, payroll debt waiver requests and compromise offers over $1,000. The St. Paul one handles loan guaranty debts for the entire country.

VR&E

Veteran Readiness & Employment assists service-connected disabled veterans in obtaining suitable employment or achieving maximum independence in daily living, Lee said.

“Veterans are entitled to VR&E services if their service-connected disabilities cause or contribute to an employment handicap,” he said.

This division also advises veterans to identify a career goal and related training. They can qualify for payment of tuition, books, fees, certifications and licenses. Self-employment services are available, too, he said.

Employment coordinators assist veterans with resumes, job-seeking skills and finding job leads. The VA provides a grant to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development for vet-related employment services.