WASHINGTON—Funding for veterans health care would rise to $37.1 billion in fiscal year 2008, under recommendations from Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Democrats. That is $2.9 billion above the President’s request, and $4.8 billion higher than the current level.
“Time and again when Democrats were in the minority, they vowed to provide adequate funding for veterans health care if they were to regain control of Congress,” said Disabled American Veterans National Commander Bradley S. Barton. “Now that Democrats have the majority in Congress, it is heartening that some are willing to live up to that commitment.”
Barton noted that the Senate panel’s proposed funding for veterans health care also were above that recommended by the DAV and other veterans service organizations in their annual Independent Budget. “That is a refreshing change,” he said.
However, Barton noted that funding recommendations from Democrats on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee were disappointing as they fell below those in The Independent Budget.
“In the past, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-Calif.) often cited The Independent Budget as the benchmark for funding veterans programs and chastised Republican budgets for falling short of the mark, but now he seems to have abandoned that long-held position,” said Barton.
The Veterans’ Affairs Committees’ funding recommendations now go to the House and Senate Budget Committees, where a fiscal year 2008 budget blueprint will be crafted. That sets the stage for the annual appropriations process, which has often been delayed until well into the new fiscal year and has consistently under funded veterans health care and other programs.
“The DAV and other groups have long urged Congress to enact legislation that will provide a reliable, predictable funding stream for veterans health care. Assured funding will enable the VA to efficiently and effectively plan for and meet the growing needs of our nation’s sick and disabled veterans, both now and in the future,” Barton said.
The 1.3 million-member Disabled American Veterans, a non-profit organization founded in 1920 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1932, represents this nation’s disabled veterans. It is dedicated to a single purpose: building better lives for our nation’s disabled veterans and their families. For more information, visit the organization’s Web site www.dav.org.
03-10-2007, 08:23
Veterans’ Panels Seek Higher Funding 
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