DAV Magazine — September/October 2016
House, Senate agree on 2017 funding
In June, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees reached an agreement on the Fiscal Year 2017 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill. However, unrelated amendments delayed final approval.
Under the conference committee agreement, funding for veterans medical care next year would increase by almost 8 percent to $75.4 billion, although the rising use of non-VA care driven by the Choice Program will almost certainly require supplemental funding next year.
The Veterans Benefits Administration would get a 5.5-percent increase to complete its claims processing transformation, and the Board of Veterans’ Appeals budget would rise more than 40 percent to address the rising backlog of pending appeals.
The agreement matched the Administration’s extremely low $1 billion funding request for VA construction programs, down more than 40 percent from this year and less than half the minimum funding recommended by the Independent Budget.
“Overall, this will be a strong budget to meet the needs of the men and women who served,” said DAV Washington Headquarters Executive Director Garry Augustine. “However, we remain very concerned about the failure of Congress and the Administration to provide sufficient funding to maintain and replace aging VA health care facilities.”
Additionally, the advance appropriation for FY 2018 medical care and related VA accounts would also be significantly less than what will be needed—just $66.4 billion—a 12-percent cut if no additional funding is approved.
Under the conference committee agreement, funding for veterans medical care next year would increase by almost 8 percent to $75.4 billion, although the rising use of non-VA care driven by the Choice Program will almost certainly require supplemental funding next year.
The Veterans Benefits Administration would get a 5.5-percent increase to complete its claims processing transformation, and the Board of Veterans’ Appeals budget would rise more than 40 percent to address the rising backlog of pending appeals.
The agreement matched the Administration’s extremely low $1 billion funding request for VA construction programs, down more than 40 percent from this year and less than half the minimum funding recommended by the Independent Budget.
“Overall, this will be a strong budget to meet the needs of the men and women who served,” said DAV Washington Headquarters Executive Director Garry Augustine. “However, we remain very concerned about the failure of Congress and the Administration to provide sufficient funding to maintain and replace aging VA health care facilities.”
Additionally, the advance appropriation for FY 2018 medical care and related VA accounts would also be significantly less than what will be needed—just $66.4 billion—a 12-percent cut if no additional funding is approved.
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