Peters Helped Secure $57.6 Million in Federal Funding to Kickstart Construction
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) released the following statement to celebrate today’s groundbreaking ceremony for the new D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans in Marquette Township. In 2023, Peters helped secure the $57.6 million federal investment needed to begin construction of the new Michigan Veteran Homes facility:
“Veterans in Michigan and across our country have made incredible sacrifices to defend our democracy, our freedoms, and our American way of life. We have a moral obligation to support them when they return home and ensure they can receive the quality care they earned during their service.
“Today’s groundbreaking marks a new chapter for veteran care in the Upper Peninsula, helping to ensure we can continue providing the skilled nursing care our veterans deserve for decades to come. I want to thank our partners at Michigan Veteran Homes, as well as other state and local officials, who have made this new facility a reality.”
“This groundbreaking on the new MVH D.J. Jacobetti in Marquette Township marks the beginning of the next chapter in Michigan’s long history of caring for veterans here in the Upper Peninsula. In this new Home, veterans will receive the amazing care and quality of life they’ve received for decades at the Jacobetti, but soon in an environment that promotes the dignity and respect these veterans earned, and deserve,” said Anne Zerbe, Chief Executive Officer, Michigan Veteran Homes. “This is a generational investment in veterans of the U.P. It’s an investment and partnership between the state and federal government that represents a promise to those who’ve worn the uniform. We’re grateful for the state and federal leaders who’ve championed this cause for years – including Senator Gary Peters. That advocacy has come to a point of action. It’s a new – and incredible – era for veteran skilled nursing care in Michigan.”
“On behalf of all Veterans organizations, the Marquette County Veterans Alliance thanks Senator Gary Peters for his persistent and continual support for this much-needed replacement for the D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans,” said Jim Provost, Chair of the Marquette County Veterans Alliance. “Having access to private rooms, up-to-date technology, and expanded facilities, along with current outstanding medical staff, administration, and support staff will be appreciated by Veterans and their families. We look forward to seeing the progress and completion of this project in the near future.”
This project was made possible by a federal investment provided through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) State Veterans Home Construction Grant Program, which Senator Peters has consistently championed during his time in the Senate. Peters has annually led a bipartisan group of his colleagues in urging the Senate Appropriations Committee to provide robust funding for the program. Since his appointment to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, Peters has repeatedly helped secure robust funding for the program through the annual government funding laws. Peters has also continued to advocate for the program’s importance, including during a hearing with then-VA Secretary Denis McDonough in 2023.
State Veterans Homes are operated by state governments and partner with the VA to provide nursing home, domiciliary, and adult day care services to veterans with special medical needs, including thousands of elderly veterans. Federal funds provided by the State Veterans Home Construction Grant Program allow states to make critical facility upgrades or construct new facilities to serve aging veteran populations.
More information on the State Veterans Home Construction Grant Program can be found here.
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