Larry Kay, the executive director of Missouri Veterans Commission, testified in favor of the bill. He said that about $35 million is necessary to keep veteran houses operate under current state for one year, and now it is 8 million short. The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, would add $3 million to $3.5 million to the veterans fund.

The Committee heard a similar bill two weeks ago that sought to raise the Veterans Fund by increasing casino entry fees by $1, which would help raise about $50 million annually. The gaming industry opposes that bill and said that the tax burden together with the increased entry fee would largely hurt the industry.

Kelly, described the newly proposed bill as "relatively modest." He said that instead of asking casinos to pay money from their budget, the bill would let casinos display a message on slot machines to ask patrons whether they are willing to contribute a share of their winnings to the Veterans Fund.

Mike Winter, the executive director of Missouri Gaming Association, again testified against the bill. He said that the veterans’ fund crisis is an issue of statewide importance, and it was unfair to only target at gaming industry.

"The gaming industry is the only industry who would ask their patrons to donate their money… Why we are not asking other customers at retail operations ? Why they shouldn’t doing the same when they checkout?" Winter said.

Winter also told the committee that the bill would ask casinos to install new programs on 2,000 machines statewide and do changes to staff training, which would add additional costs on the industry.

Currently there are seven veterans’ homes in the state that house about 1,300 veterans. There are 1,690 veterans on the waiting list to get into these homes.

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