Congress passed a $1.2 trillion omnibus appropriations bill last week which will fund the government through the beginning of October 2014. The budget provides additional funding in some areas of veterans’ services; however, it also contains funding shortfalls.
In general, leading veterans groups are concerned that the funding does not fully support critical areas such as VA infrastructure and medical and prosthetic research. Although the funding in this bill matched the President’s request, VetsFirst does not believe that it will allow VA to keep pace with required upkeep or replacement of important VA medical facilities. The healthcare needs in the veteran community will continue long after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have drawn to a close. We are concerned that the lack of investment will lead to trouble for VA health care in the future.
VetsFirst is supportive of the increase in funding for efforts to address the disability claims backlog.
Congress fully funded the President’s $294 million request to provide increased funding that will help VA reduce the claims backlog. The additional funding will help VA by providing for upgraded IT systems and increased employee training. We hope this funding will provide VA with the tools it needs to reach its goal of reducing the backlog by 2015.
VetsFirst will continue to advocate for the funding VA needs to meet the needs of veterans living with disabilities.