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AMVETS CALLS ON SENATE TO IMPROVE VA BUDGET
WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 2008—AMVETS, along with other leading veterans’ service organizations, called for a more consistent budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs during testimony before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs on Wednesday, Feb. 13.
AMVETS Director of Legislative Affairs Raymond Kelley testified that the VA needs consistent funding to successfully deliver care in the coming years.
“Veterans should not have to wait for benefits to which they are entitled,” said Kelley in his testimony. “We strongly support mandatory funding for VA health care. However, if the Congress cannot support mandatory funding, there are alternatives which could meet our goals of timely, sufficient, and predictable funding.”
AMVETS, with the support of Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars, is calling for improved funding processes for the VA.
In recent years, the VA has had to seek supplemental funding from the Federal Government to overcome budget shortfalls. Most recently, President Bush and Congress approved $3.7 billion in emergency supplemental funding to provide for veterans’ care in 2008.
The total VA budget is set to increase by nearly $3.4 billion in 2009—nearly $3 billion short of the Independent Budget assessment recommendations. Many of these increases are slated to fund programs designed to improve communication between Department of Defense and the VA, as recommended by the Dole-Shalala Commission.
While AMVETS supports this open line of communication, it must not come at the expense of acute care for veterans who need it.
“We’ve seen trends develop since the start of the Global War on Terror and we have an opportunity to do this right in 2009,” said AMVETS National Cmdr. John P. “JP” Brown III. “Every year, our leaders nickel-and-dime the VA, compromising the care that we give our veterans. We have to do better than this.”
About AMVETS:
A leader since 1944 in preserving the freedoms secured by America’s armed forces, AMVETS provides support for veterans and the active military in procuring their earned entitlements, as well as community services that enhance the quality of life for this nation’s citizens. AMVETS is one of the largest congressionally-chartered veterans’ service organizations in the United States, and includes members from each branch of the military, including the National Guard and Reserves.
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