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UPDATE: SENATE VETS' CHAIR DECRIES VA BUDGET CUTS --
Sen. Daniel Akaka: "When basic factors...are
taken into
account, little additional funding, if any,
remains for
needed increases in priority areas of health
care..."
There are lots of ways to read a budget for a
federal agency.
If you are the one proposing the budget, and it's
the VA budget, you will try to make it appear as good as possible.
That's what the administration did when they
offered up the FY 2009 VA budget...here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfFEB08/nf020508-3.htm
Not everyone agrees with the administration's
pie-in-the-sky assessment of the budget.
House Vets' Chair Bob Filner (D-CA) is just plain
POd...here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/hcva08/hcva020508-1.htm
Now, the Senate Vets' Chair Daniel Akaka (D-HI)
has added his two cents.
Akaka offers real numbers and a harsh assessment
of what appears to be actual cuts in veterans' spending.
It looks like healthcare will take a hit because
the proposed increase is so small it actually will turn into a negative
when inflation is factored in. And, construction, research and the
OIG are going to be cut.
Get ready for lots of legislation to boost this
budget and make it more realistic.
Akaka press release here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/scva08/scva020508-3.htm
Press release below:
-------------------------
DEMOCRATIC PRESS
RELEASE
AKAKA DISAPPOINTED BY PROPOSED VETERANS' BUDGET
President's Budget Would Scale Back Recent Gains
for Veterans
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the
Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, expressed serious concern about
President George W. Bush's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2009. Chairman
Akaka said, "This budget does not go far enough to meet the demands of a
nation at war, or the needs of the veterans who braved today's and
yesterday's battles. While the challenges facing veterans continue to grow
more serious, the President - in his last chance to do right by our
Nation's veterans -- is proposing a budget that provides limited new
funding overall and proposes cutbacks in some programs. It just is not
enough. We must do better."
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Overall, President Bush requested $91.2 billion
for VA for Fiscal Year 2009. For the medical care account, the President
asked for a total of $38.7 billion, $2 billion more than what Congress
allocated to VA for Fiscal Year 2008. When basic factors, such as medical
care inflation and other increases in VA's operational costs are taken
into account, little additional funding, if any, remains for needed
increases in priority areas of health care, such as to meet the needs of
veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury or PTSD.
The $2 billion increase requested includes only $319 million in additional
funding for mental health care, and $216 million more than FY08 for the
care of OIF/OEF veterans, at a time when demand in both of those areas of
care is steadily rising. Furthermore, certain key accounts are slated for
significant cuts.
The most troubling of the proposed cuts are to construction, research, and
the Office of the Inspector General. The President requested $911 million
for Major and Minor Construction, a cut of $788 million from FY08, at a
time when VA should be undertaking a massive effort to upgrade the
department's infrastructure, much of which is well over 50 years old.
Medical research, an essential component of VA's health program, would be
cut to $442 million from $480 million in FY08. The contributions made by
VA researchers benefit not only veterans, but the U.S. health care system
as a whole, and this cut would unnecessarily restrict their important
efforts. The VA Inspector General's budget is slated for a $4 million
decrease, at a time when oversight of the Department is more necessary
than ever. The IG conducts quality assessments at each and every VA health
care facility on a regular basis, takes on larger projects such as those
on traumatic brain injury care and waiting times, and uncovers fraud,
waste, and abuse within the VA system.
"This budget proposal represents a meek approach to funding VA, in light
of the sacrifices made by those who have served in past conflicts and the
devastating injuries many of them must face after returning from Iraq or
Afghanistan. Those who are wounded in combat must have timely access to
VA's services.
I am also very disappointed by the President's recommendation to cut
construction funding by nearly 50 percent, and that medical research and
the Inspector General's office would also face cuts. All of these accounts
are critical to the future of VA. Cutting them now is simply shortsighted.
I will be working to advance a more realistic and robust budget that will
better serve America's veterans" said Chairman Akaka.
-------------------------
posted by Larry
Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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