Funding and fees would rise under 2007 VA budget

Since 02-17-06

By Rick Maze
Times Staff Writer

The Bush administration is asking for a 12.2-percent increase in funding for veterans programs, hoping the $8.8 billion increase will quickly dispel any doubt about the commitment to veterans programs.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson said the $80.6 billion budget includes a "landmark increase" that is proof "veterans are a priority."

"With the support of Congress, we can take care of the needs of our newest generation of combat veterans, while honoring our commitment to veterans of earlier eras," Nicholson said.

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee chairman who was extremely critical of the 2006 veterans' budget said the 2007 request includes "stunning increases that are going to require a reality check from Congress."

"With this budget, Congress can quickly dispense with the debate about the adequacy of the president's request and instead focus more attention on the long-term sustainability of double-digit increases in VA budgets," Craig said.

That does not mean the budget will be without controversy. The Bush administration has renewed a proposal, rejected by Congress last year, that would charge a $250 enrollment fee and an increase in the fee for a 30-day supply of prescription drugs. The fee, now $8, would increase to $15. The fee increases would apply to veterans who do not have service-connected disabilities and who have at least moderate incomes, putting them in what the VA calls Priorities 7 and 8 for care. Veterans in these two categories have been mostly precluded from treatment by the VA for several years.

The budget asks for an 11 percent increase in health care funding and a 14.5 percent increase in benefits, Nicholson said.

With the money, the VA will be able to care for 5.3 million patients in fiscal 2007, including more than 100,000 returning veterans from operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

Also included is $3.2 billion for mental health services, $339 million more than the current budget, and $1.4 billion for prosthetics and sensory aides, a $160 million increase.

There is $78 million for national cemetery construction. Expansions would occur at Great Lakes, Mich.; Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas; and Saratoga, N.Y. New cemeteries would be developed for Bakersfield, Calif.; Birmingham, Ala.; Columbia/Greenville, S.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Sarasota, Fla.; and southeastern Pennsylvania.