AUGUSTA – It’s an unwritten creed: In Maine, veterans help other veterans.

For many, this involves transporting veterans unable to drive themselves to the Togus VA Medical Center in Augusta.

The drivers for Disabled American Veterans Department of Maine Veterans Transportation Network are volunteers. William Henshaw of Sabattus said he drives 10 hours a day, three days a week for the network, transporting veterans from the Lewiston-Auburn and Oxford Hills areas.

However, money has run dry, according to veterans who testified to the state’s Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee Monday. They were supporting a bill sponsored by Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, which would allocate $15,000 a year for two years to the program.

Rotundo, who is the Appropriations Committee chairwoman, said she could not predict the bill’s fate, but she acknowledged the need for funds.

“We won’t know until the very end,” she said.

Arnold Leavitt, a World War II veteran, had asked Rotundo to submit the bill. In his testimony, he rattled off statistics about the transportation network’s operation.

They have 12 vans, he said, and replace about two per year. The funds go to purchasing, maintaining and filling the tanks. Volunteers transport around 6,000 veterans per year, driving 350,000 to 400,000 miles. It costs about $51,000 a year to run the program, he said.

Their primary fundraiser is bingo – and proceeds have dwindled, he said.

Funds come from DAV chapters and individual grants. The state has never funded the transportation network before.

During his testimony, Donald Simoneau, a department commander for the American Legion, said that veterans will find a way to get to their appointments.

“They may have waited two years to get an appointment; they’re not going to miss that appointment,” he said, noting that many will end up trying to drive themselves. “And maybe they shouldn’t be on the road.”