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The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill sends
a clear message to America’s service members and women, their families,
and our veterans that we all appreciate and respect their service and
sacrifice.
It builds upon the efforts of the last two years, as this Congress has
made veterans its #1 priority. In 2007, Congress passed three separate
appropriations bills that increased total funding for Veterans medical
care by $11.8 billion, so that they may receive the quality of care that
they deserve. The emergency supplemental passed by the House last week
continues those efforts with further increases for VA medical care and
rewarding those who serve by expanding the GI bill to provide a full,
four-year college benefit to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
This year’s bill builds on those accomplishments. It starts by rejecting
the President’s proposal to cut the Department of Veterans Affairs
construction by $788 million, so that the Department has the resources it
needs to address buildings that have fallen into disrepair.
It goes on to address the critical needs facing veterans medical care as
soldiers return from Iraq and Afghanistan, building on the historic
increases provided last year by:
- Increasing enrollment of Priority 8 veterans by 10 percent, ensuring
that we keep our commitment to all veterans
- Providing veterans with advanced prosthetics
- Making substantial increases to mental health and substance abuse
For active duty service members and their families, the bill provides
$336 million above the President’s request for quality of life projects
that will directly improve living conditions and health care delivery.
The subcommittee took its oversight responsibility seriously, holding 19
hearings and one briefing to examine the President’s request.
Bill Total
2008 Enacted: $63.9 billion
President’s Request: $69.3 billion
Committee Mark: $72.7 billion
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION: $24.8 billion, $400 million above
the President’s request and $4.2 billion above 2008. The large increase is
mostly due to the costs of implementing Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)
and plans to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps.
Quality of Life Initiative: $336 million, not requested
by the President, to continue a quality of life initiative for troops and
their families started in the 2008 supplemental including: nearly $200
million for five new trainee and recruit housing facilities for the Army
and Marine Corps to improve the barracks soldiers and marines live in when
they train; and $136 million for medical military construction and
planning activities to upgrade substandard medical treatment facilities.
For years, service members and their families have said that quality of
life issues are their top priority, but they have been neglected by this
Administration.
2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) and Re-stationing:
$9.1 billion, $1.8 billion above 2008 and the same as the
President’s request, to implement base closures and realignments, and
support the re-stationing of 70,000 troops and their families from
overseas to the United States. The bill also funds planning for the
eventual relocation of 8,000 marines and 9,000 dependents from Okinawa to
Guam.
Growing the Force: $5.6 billion in military construction
and family housing, to support the Administration’s program to increase
the size of the Army by 65,000, the Marine Corps by 27,000, and the Guard
and Reserve by 9,200 personnel.
1990 BRAC: $473 million, $178 million above 2008 and $80
million above the President’s request, to address an estimated $3.5
billion backlog in needed environmental cleanup for bases that were closed
during the four previous BRAC rounds as identified in most recent Defense
Environmental Programs Annual Report.
Military Housing: $3.2 billion, $300 million above 2008,
to further eliminate inadequate military housing.
DEPARMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS: $47.7 billion, $4.6
billion above 2008 and $2.9 billion over the President’s request, for
veterans’ medical care, claims processors, and facility improvements.
Veterans Health Administration: $40.8 billion, $1.6
billion over the President’s request and $3.9 billion above 2008, for
veterans’ medical care. The Veterans Health Administration estimates they
will treat more than 5.8 million patients in 2009 including more than
333,275 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan (40,000 more than 2008).
- Medical Services: $30.9 billion, $1 billion above
the President’s request and $2.8 billion above 2008, to improve access
to medical services for all veterans.
- Increase Enrollment of Priority 8 Veterans: $400
million, not requested by the President, to start enrolling 10 percent
of Priority 8 veterans. An estimated one-half of all uninsured
veterans are Priority 8. Priority 8 veterans have not been enrolled
since 2003 as part of an Administration effort to cut costs.
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse: $3.8 billion
for specialty mental health care and $584 million for substance abuse
programs.
- Fee-Based Care: $200 million, not requested by
the President and not funded in 2008, for fee-based services to
improve access to care where VHA services are not available.
- Beneficiary Travel: $100 million above the
President’s request to increase the beneficiary travel reimbursement
rate from 28.5 cents per mile to 41.5 cents per mile.
- Assistance for Homeless Vets: $130 million for
the homeless grants and per diem program, rejecting the President’s $8
million cut and the same as 2008, including $32 million to hire
additional personnel for the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing
Program.
- New Generation Prosthetics: $1.6 billion, $250
million above 2008 and $116 million above the President’s request, to
provide veterans with appropriate prosthetic support given recent
advances in technology.
- Medical Support and Compliance: $4.4 billion, $144
million above the President’s request and $338 million above 2008, to
ensure the efficient operation of the Department’s health care system
and to support plans to increase enrollment of Priority 8 veterans by 10
percent.
- Medical Facilities: $5 billion, $368 million above
the President’s request and $769 million above 2008, including a $300
million increase for on-going maintenance and renovations of existing
facilities to address identified shortfalls and to ensure the
Department’s facilities remain capable of delivering world-class
medicine. The Department currently estimates a maintenance backlog of
over $5 billion. Includes $68 million to support plans to increase
enrollment of Priority 8 veterans by 10 percent.
- Medical and Prosthetic Research: $500 million,
rejecting the President’s $38 million cut and $20 million above 2008,
for research to help improve the quality of life for injured and aging
veterans. Restores the cuts to trauma and mental health research –
important to veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Major and Minor Construction: $1.9 billion, rejecting
the President’s $788 million cut and $215 million above 2008, to fulfill
the Department’s commitment to fund recommendations made by the Capitol
Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES), which was established to
look at facilities and determine their construction needs. The increase in
minor construction will enable the Department to complete 145 projects in
fiscal year 2009.
Extended Care Facilities: $165 million, rejecting the
President’s $80 million cut and the same as 2008, for grants to States for
construction and renovation of extended care facilities. The funding level
will meet identified life/safety needs and still provide funding for
construction of additional new facilities.
General Operating Expenses: $1.8 billion, $102 million
above the President’s request and $197 million above 2008, to enable the
Department to hire roughly 2,100 additional claims processors to work down
the backlog of benefits claims and to reduce the time to process new
claims. The most recent VA quarterly status report estimates that nearly
396,000 claims are pending which are 20,000 more than their goal.
Information Technology: $2.5 billion, $232 million above
2008 and $50 million above the President’s request, for an emergency fund
to address critical unplanned needs at medical facilities.
Inspector General: $87.8 million, rejecting the
President’s $4 million cut and $7.3 million above 2008, to provide
additional personnel for oversight activities, including inspections of
community based outpatient clinics and VA Centers.
RELATED AGENCIES
American Battle Monuments Commission: $55.5 million, $11
million above 2008 and $8 million above the President’s request. This
funding provides for the care and operation of our military monuments and
cemeteries around the world.
United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims:
$73.98 million, $51 million above 2008 and $50 million above the
President’s request, for the acquisition of a new facility for the Court.
Cemeterial Expenses: $31.2 million, matching 2008 and the
President’s request, for Arlington cemetery.
Armed Forces Retirement Home: $63 million from the Trust
Fund, the same as the President’s request, for operation and maintenance
of the Armed Forces Retirement Home, including $8 million for capital
expenditures at the DC campus.
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