Could the Robert E. Spiller Center be impacted by federal cuts being made?

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Cuts from federal funding has caused much concern across the country from multiple departments, including the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Here in Bowling Green, the Robert E. Spiller Veterans Center is still undergoing the final stages of construction and will soon be home to dozens of aging veterans in our community. There have been some concerns, though, if funding cuts will affect the construction and maintenance of the veterans center.

The executive director of the Kentucky Office of Veterans Centers, Mark Bowman, says that they will not be impacted by these cuts, as Kentucky veterans centers are funded through state dollars rather than federal dollars. Even though they will not be impacted by the cuts, some areas of funding, like federal grants, were reviewed before being accepted.

“Early on, it was back in late January, we received notification that there had been a quick review of the programs that may affect us, and it was determined that none of them would be affected,” Bowman said.

Bowman added that while they won’t be impacted by federal cuts like some other places will be, they know they will still face challenges, including getting staff ready to serve the community.

“Those issues don’t affect us and our staff. So we’re still ramping up our staff and getting them trained up and we can’t wait to get in to the building and open it for the community because it’s been a a true labor of love with a lot of partners for a long, long time,” Bowman said.

Bowman added that the staff is looking forward to welcoming in veterans to the Spiller Center and providing them with the best care and treatment they can provide.