New VA Funding Bill Puts Veterans First

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 2007--The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is saluting the anticipated passage of a historic funding bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs, one that would add $3.7 billion to the $34 billion in discretionary funding the administration had proposed earlier this year.

"President Bush and Congress don't always agree on every issue, but they do agree that America's veterans must be cared for," said VFW National Commander George Lisicki, a Vietnam veteran from Carteret, N.J. "This VA increase honors that commitment, and I expect the president to quickly sign it into law, and to release the $3.7 billion plus-up before the Jan. 18 deadline, as called for in the bill."

As the nation's largest organization of combat veterans, the VFW has consistently maintained that the true cost of war includes the proper care and treatment of the men and women who serve their country in uniform. The VA budget increase, part of a fiscal 2008 omnibus package that passed in the House on Sunday and in the Senate yesterday, is endorsed by the veterans' service organization community and by the vast majority of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. The additional funding Congress provided is needed for construction and infrastructure improvements, medical and prosthetic research, and to hire additional mental health counselors, healthcare professionals and claims adjudicators.

"I salute the Congress for making this additional funding available," said Lisicki. "This budget puts veterans first, which will help ensure the world class VA healthcare system continues to be accessible and responsive to the needs of those veterans with physical and mental disabilities."

Also approved by the Senate was $70 billion in emergency funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, an amount that should be sufficient to eliminate a planned furlough of 200,000 Defense Department civilians and contractors that would have been implemented had the additional funding not been approved. The House, who had approved $31 billion for operations in Afghanistan only, is expected to agree to the Senate's amount.

Source: VFW