Skill games funded my VFW post. Harrisburg’s inaction could close it.

In a matter of weeks, my Veterans of Foreign Wars post could be facing a decision none of us ever thought we would have to make: closing our doors.

Not cutting back. Not shortening our hours. Closing.

Think about that for a moment.

A place built by veterans, sustained by veterans, and dedicated to serving veterans and our community could disappear because lawmakers in Harrisburg could not find a way to create a set of guidelines to govern skill games — the slot machine-like devices that everything from convenience stores to veterans posts like mine rely on for income.

And I have one question for them: Why? Why, when there are ways to come up with a solution, would you allow organizations like ours to fail?

VFWs, American Legions, volunteer fire companies, fraternal clubs, and small businesses across Pennsylvania are looking at their finances and making painful plans for what comes next if skill games go away.

Back in June, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court gave state lawmakers 120 days to regulate skill games and help businesses and organizations stay open. With less than a month left, they have not acted.

At our VFW, the revenue from skill games isn’t extra money sitting around waiting to be spent. It has become part of what allows us to keep the lights on, pay our bills, employ people, and continue serving our community.

Pennsylvania lawmakers have legislative days coming up. They have an opportunity to prevent a crisis.

It isn’t just us at risk. Jim Brown, state commander of the VFWs, warns that a ban on skill games risks a vital revenue source for these organizations and threatens the survival of many VFW posts across the state.

Senate Bill 1079, sponsored by State Sens. Gene Yaw and Anthony Williams, or House Bill 2213, sponsored by State Reps. Danilo Burgos and Jonathan Fritz, offers a path forward. They would responsibly regulate skill games and establish a $500 monthly fee per machine.

That’s a compromise. The state gets revenue — $300 million a year. The games get regulated. And organizations like ours get a fighting chance to survive.

So why can’t lawmakers get this done?

I’ve heard the argument that veterans organizations, firefighters, and other nonprofits survived before skill games, so we should simply go back to raising money the way we used to.

I would invite anyone making that argument to try it themselves.

Could you go back five or 10 years and live on the income you made then while paying today’s bills?

Could the state run today on the budget it passed 10 years ago (which notably was less than half of what the state budget is today)?

Why can’t lawmakers get this done?

We can’t chicken barbecue ourselves out of the coming budget hole. There aren’t enough dinners, raffles, bake sales, and pass-the-boot drives to replace the dependable revenue many organizations now receive from skill games.

Our volunteer firefighters want to fight fires and keep protecting our communities. They do not want to be full-time fundraisers.

What scares me most is that this doesn’t end at our front door. When a VFW loses revenue, the community loses revenue. We support food drives, local charities, and families who need a hand. Volunteer fire companies do the same while providing an essential public service.

Will Harrisburg step in to support the Little League team? Will it help the food bank? Will it support the homeless veteran? Will it replace every donation that disappears when a VFW, American Legion, fire company, or Elks Club can no longer afford to give?

That is the part of this debate I don’t hear enough about. The consequences don’t stop with the machines. They are far-reaching.

They reach the bartender or club employee who loses a job. They reach the veteran who loses a gathering place and support system. They reach the firefighter whose organization loses revenue and struggles to find new volunteers.

They reach every community organization that depended on donations from local clubs.

Organizations are making plans right now. They are looking at layoffs. They’re deciding what expenses they can cut. They’re considering which donations and community programs they can no longer afford. Some, like us, are wondering whether they can remain open at all.

Pennsylvania lawmakers have legislative days coming up. They have an opportunity to prevent a crisis.

Lawmakers must pass legislation that regulates skill games and gives organizations a workable path forward. This would protect the jobs tied to these establishments. Protect veterans organizations and volunteer fire companies. Protect the community programs those organizations make possible.

We have spent our lives believing that when our community needs us, we show up.

Now we need our lawmakers to show up and do their job and find a solution.

Rusty Miller worked for many years as president of a wireless construction company that specialized in all facets of cell site and switch construction, and retired in 2021. He has belonged to the Mechanicsburg VFW Post 6704 for 25 years.