Maine VetsConnect: A Policy for Action
My plan to use innovative technology to serve our veterans
“Our veterans answered the call for us. We need to answer it for them.”
Our Promise to Maine’s Veterans
Maine is home to more than 100,000 veterans: men and women who stepped forward when their country needed them.
But when they return home and seek help, they face a system that too often answers with paperwork, delays, and confusion. Veterans are forced to hunt across multiple websites, print forms, chase signatures, and wait weeks or months to see progress, all while many in rural Maine still lack reliable internet access.
It’s unacceptable. And it doesn’t have to be this way.
That’s why I’m proposing Maine VetsConnect, a first-of-its-kind initiative to bring every veterans’ service in Maine under one roof. It’s designed to cut red tape, modernize government, and make it easier for every veteran to access the benefits they’ve earned.
A Broken System
The challenges our veterans face fall into three categories:
Fragmentation: Dozens of disconnected programs, each with its own forms, logins, and processes.
The Digital Divide: Thousands of rural veterans still don’t have high-speed internet, effectively locking them out of online systems.
Lack of Human Support: Too often, veterans are left to navigate it all alone.
Our government should not be harder to deal with than basic customer service in the private sector.
The Solution: Maine VetsConnect
Maine VetsConnect will consolidate every state-level veterans service into a single, easy-to-use portal, modeled on the kind of seamless systems that actually work in the private sector.
It’s built around three simple pillars:
1. High-Speed Internet for Every Veteran
No veteran should be left behind because of where they live.
Through Starlink satellite internet, the state will provide reliable broadband to any veteran who doesn’t currently have it.
Connectivity is a lifeline, and it’s how veterans can access telehealth, job training, and the new VetsConnect portal itself.
2. One Smart Portal
The VetsConnect platform replaces a maze of disconnected websites with one secure, streamlined experience.
Simple Start: A few quick questions show veterans every state, federal, or local benefit they may qualify for.
One Application: A single digital profile replaces dozens of paper forms.
Clear Updates: Veterans can track applications in real time instead of making endless phone calls.
This is government that works like the real world, with transparency and a focus on service.
3. One-on-One Guidance
Technology should make things easier, not colder.
Local Veterans Service Officers (VSOs) will stay at the center of the process, equipped with better tools and technology to serve veterans directly.
There will always be a real person to talk to.
Implementation and Partnerships
We’ll build VetsConnect using modern technology partnerships and digital-native design, cutting costs and delivering results faster than traditional government projects.
The platform will also connect veterans to education and job opportunities through the University of Maine System and Maine’s community colleges, helping them train for high-growth careers in manufacturing, clean energy, and information technology.
As someone who built a company that helps people recover from stroke and brain injury using technology, I’ve seen how innovation can make life better when it’s focused on people. We can bring that same approach to state government.
Paying for It
By consolidating overlapping systems, we’ll reduce administrative waste and redirect savings toward direct support for veterans.
We’ll also tap federal funding for broadband and veterans services, and invite Maine-based tech firms to help design and maintain the platform, creating jobs while lowering costs.
The goal: a world-class solution at a Maine-sized price tag.
Why This Matters
We owe our veterans more than another set of forms or another office to call.
We owe them results.
“The people who served our country deserve a government that serves them with the same dedication. We owe them not another layer of forms, but a clear path to the help they’ve earned.”
That’s the standard Maine should meet. And that’s what Maine VetsConnect will deliver.
Join the Effort
If you believe Maine can lead again by building systems that work for people, not politics, share this post.
Together, we can make Maine a state that honors those who served by serving them well.