PHOENIX β Gov. Doug Ducey exercised his first-ever line-item veto of a state budget Wednesday as he found an item he didnβt like.
The governor use his constitutional power to remove $3.6 million from the Department of Veterans Services. Those dollars were specifically earmarked for hyperbaric oxygen therapy for veterans, a provision put in the budget by Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff.
She told colleagues during hearings that the measure was brought to her by constituents.
The therapy involves breathing 100% oxygen while in a hypberbaric chamber, where the air pressure inside is raised to a level higher than normal atmospheric pressure. That is supposed to help the lungs collect more oxygen.
βIt has been found to be efficacious, helpful in curing post-traumatic stress syndrome,β said Rogers, who is a veteran. But the governor, for his part, was unconvinced.
βArizona has created a strong, welcoming environment for our veterans,β he said in his veto message, the first in the eight budgets he has approved. And he said there has been βno shortage of policiesβ to help them, including spending measures.
βThis appropriation however has little support from the public and veteran community,β Ducey wrote.
Rogers told Capitol Media Services on Tuesday that she was surprised.
"Wow, that's just unimaginable,'' she said.
"Hyperbaric treatment has such a high success rate in curing veterans' PTSD,'' Rogers said. "The veteran community and I are absolutely incredulous."
Lawmakers actually established a fund to pay for the therapy several years ago, with permission to take private donations, grants and other monies. This would have been the first state dollars since an initial appropriation of $25,000 in 2018.
Rogers has said the program could treat 500 veterans each with 40 βdives,β meaning time under pressure.
Rep. Walt Blackman, R-Snowflake, who also is a veteran, was skeptical not so much of the treatment, but the fact that this would have been one-time funding. He said there is no answer to what happens when the cash runs out.
