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DEMOCRATIC PRESS RELEASE

October 17, 2007

House Veterans Affairs’ Committee Hearing Examines the Long-Term Costs of the Current Conflicts

Kristal DeKleer (202) 225-9756

Washington, D.C. – Bob Filner (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, held a hearing on Wednesday to examine the long-term costs of the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The hearing focused on how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is addressing and preparing for these added costs, especially in the area of medical care.

“Congress understands that the cost of war includes the cost of the warrior,” said Chairman Filner. “We cannot continue to debate the costs of these current conflicts without beginning to address the long-term health care needs of combat veterans. Any planned military surge, must be accompanied by a preparation for a surge in short and long-term medical care.”

Since 2001, 1.6 million servicemembers have been deployed. According to the Congressional Budget Office, nearly half of those deployed have separated from the active component or have become eligible for VA care as reservists. One-third of these have sought VA medical care since 2002. In 2008, the number of veterans receiving treatment is expected to rise to 5.8 million, and will include an estimated 263,000 veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF).

Witnesses noted the difficulty in predicting the future costs of the current conflicts. Reasons cited included the future unknown cost and varying ratings of disability claims, the currently undetected injuries of combat veterans, and the screening process and treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Another factor in future costs for the VA is long-term care and disability claims for the current aging population of veterans.

According to Matthew Goldberg of the Congressional Budget Office, “Along with medical care, the Department of Veterans Affairs provides compensation and various other benefits, including life insurance and educational benefits, to veterans. Calculations of the cost of the war to VA should include the costs of these other benefits over and above the costs that would have been incurred had the war not been fought. The two programs most likely to be significantly affected by the current operations are disability compensation paid to veterans with service-connected disabilities, and dependency and indemnity compensation benefits to survivors of service members.”

“At this point, we cannot gauge the extent of injuries like PTSD and TBI among our returning servicemembers because cases are yet undetected,” said Chairman Filner. “We are concerned over the ability to treat these veterans in the coming years while not forgetting the needs of veterans from previous conflicts.”

According to the Congressional Research Service, “Based on Department of Defense data, about 60,000 troops have been diagnosed with either PTSD or TBI. The total includes about 34,000 with PTSD and 26,000 with TBI between FY2003 and FY2007.” According to the Congressional Budget Office, “An oft-quoted statistic is that 37 percent of the 229,999 OIF/OEF veterans (some 84,000) were seen for mental health problems; many of those same veterans were seen for other medical conditions as well.”

Chairman Filner dismissed the differing statistics. “These numbers do not tell the human stories,” said Filner. “There is a huge difference between the numbers presented today and the realities that our veterans face. Our anecdotal picture is more real and the stories of the individual veterans are compelling. I think we are vastly underestimating the crisis in veterans care today – not to mention tomorrow.”

The opening statements of all the witnesses are available on the Committee website at
 http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/
hearing.aspx?NewsID=138.

Witness List:

Panel 1

* Amy Belasco, Specialist in U.S. Defense Policy and Budget, Congressional Research Service
* Matthew S. Goldberg, Ph.D., Deputy Assistant Director for National Security, Congressional Budget Office.

Panel 2

* The Honorable Michael J. Kussman, M.D., M.S., M.A.C.P., Under Secretary for Health, Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
* W. Paul Kearns III, FACHE, FHFMA, CPA, Chief Financial Officer, Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
* The Honorable Daniel L. Cooper, VADM (Ret.), Under Secretary for Benefits, Veterans Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
* Jimmy Norris, Chief Financial Officer, Veterans Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

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Larry Scott  --

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