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Chairman Akaka and Majority Members of Veterans' Affairs Committee Provide Budget Views and Estimates
Akaka and Majority Members call for increased funds, oppose raising fees on veterans
February 22, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and the Democratic and Independent members of the Committee, submitted their views and estimates for the Fiscal Year 2009 Veterans Affairs budget to the Senate Budget Committee. They recommended a $6.6 billion increase in overall discretionary funding over Fiscal Year 2008, of which $4.6 billion would be dedicated to medical care operations. The Majority Members' recommended funding level is $2.6 billion more than what President George W. Bush requested for VA. "Congress has an obligation to our troops returning from combat now, as well as a long-standing obligation to the veterans of previous wars," said Chairman Akaka. "VA cannot fulfill that obligation without the necessary funding. Taking care of veterans is a cost of war and our recommendation would fill significant gaps in the President's request. I will work with my colleagues to see that veterans' programs get the financial support they need." The Chairman and Majority members also rejected cuts proposed in the Administration's FY 09 budget proposal. The Administration proposed: Cutting the construction budget by $788 million, at a time when VA infrastructure is in dire need of upgrading; the Majority has recommended $2.912 billion, $1.2 billion over FY 08 for major and minor construction; Slashing medical research by $38 million, as OIF/OEF veterans and older veterans require improved health care; the Majority has recommended $555 million, $75 million over FY 08; and Reducing the VA Inspector General's budget by $4 million, even as the oversight and accountability provided by the Inspector General has proven invaluable; the Majority has recommended $88.9 million, $8.4 million over FY 08.
In addition to the proposed cuts, the Administration's request, as it has in previous years, imposed additional fees and costs for veterans receiving health care, including: Increasing prescription drug co-payments from $8 to $15 for veterans earning as little as $28,429 a year; A new annual enrollment fee of $250 to $750 for veterans whose combined family income is $50,000 a year or more; and Eliminating the practice of offsetting VA first-party co-payment debts with collections from insurance companies.
"The Administration is once again proposing to charge veterans more for the health care they have earned through their service. The President is also proposing that those new funds be returned to the Treasury instead of VA, an obvious effort to balance the federal budget by taking money from veterans who need medical care," said Chairman Akaka. "These proposals are unacceptable." The Chairman and Majority members recommended additional funding in a number of other important areas: $742 million more than FY 08 to meet the needs of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, including funding for rehabilitation, prosthetics, and family support; $135 million more than FY 08 to provide additional services to rural veterans, including an increase in the rate of reimbursement for beneficiary travel; and $10 million to improve services for the growing population of women veterans.
"My colleagues and I believe these funding levels will ensure that VA has the resources necessary to properly serve America's veterans," stated Chairman Akaka. To view the views and estimates letter, please visit the following web address: http://www.veterans.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?pageid=12&release_id=11552
Year: [2008] , 2007 , 2006 , 2005 , 2004 , 2003 , 2002 , 2001 , 2000 , 1999 , 1900
February 2008
- Feingold, Akaka Fight for Veteran Health Care [February 29, 2008]
- Akaka Chairs hearing on Government-wide Intelligence Community Management Reforms [February 29, 2008]
- Statement on Resignation of Under Secretary for Benefits from VA [February 28, 2008]
- Bipartisan Senators Urge Secretary Rice to Reconsider U.S. Policy Toward Cuba [February 28, 2008]
- Expert Testimony on PTSD and Veterans' Disability Compensation in Senate Veterans Affairs Committee [February 27, 2008]
- University of Hawaii Selected as Homeland Security Center [February 26, 2008]
- Chairman Akaka and Majority Members of Veterans' Affairs Committee Provide Budget Views and Estimates [February 22, 2008]
- Akaka Announces Nominations to U.S. Service Academies [February 21, 2008]
- Senate Democrats Discuss Efforts to Protect Wounded Warriors and Veterans [February 15, 2008]
- Dept. of Labor Implements Akaka USERRA Recommendations [February 15, 2008]
- Veterans Diagnosed with PTSD on Active Duty No Longer Required to Provide Further Evidence of PTSD [February 15, 2008]
- Akaka Reacts to Army Recommendation to Station Stryker Brigade at Schofield [February 15, 2008]
- Hearing on Veterans' Funding with New VA Secretary Peake [February 14, 2008]
- Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Screening Highlighted in GAO Report [February 8, 2008]
- Akaka Introduces Cost-of-Living Increase for Disabled Veterans [February 8, 2008]
- Akaka Votes to Support Senate Stimulus Package [February 7, 2008]
- Akaka Responds to Reports About Fort Drum [February 7, 2008]
- Feinstein, Akaka, Dicks and Grijalva Urge Interior Secretary to Retain Reagen-Era Restrictions on Loaded Firearms in America's Natonal Parks and Wildlife Refuges [February 7, 2008]
- Statement Marking Senator Inouye's 15,000 Vote in the United States Senate [February 6, 2008]
- Hearing on Veterans' Rehabilitation [February 5, 2008]
- Senators Call for Improved Compensation for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury [February 5, 2008]
- Proposed Veterans' Budget Would Scale Back Recent Gains for Veterans [February 4, 2008]
- More than $7.8 Million in Homeland Security Funds for Hawaii, Akaka and Inouye Announce [February 1, 2008]
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