President Seeks $51 Billion VA Budget

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Continuing improvements in health care and a new push to speed up the processing of applications for veterans benefits are major features of President Bush’s proposed budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

“This budget will allow us to focus upon VA’s core mission of providing high-quality health care to our veterans, while permitting us to address unacceptable delays in processing applications for disability compensation and pensions,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi.

The budget request, which needs congressional approval before taking effect, is for the fiscal year that begins next Oct. 1. The administration is seeking $51 billion for VA, nearly $4 billion more than the current spending limit. The new budget would provide about $28 billion for entitlement programs, including disability compensation, education, home loans and vocational rehabilitation. It also requests more than $23 billion for health care, the cemetery system and the administration of other programs.

The proposed budget recognizes that certain military retirees who receive health care from VA will switch to a new Pentagon-funded program that allows them to receive free care from their private doctors, plus a generous drug benefit.

Many details about VA’s proposed budget for the new fiscal year are still being reviewed by the White House. More information about the budget request will be made public in April.

VA operates the nation’s largest health-care system. More than 3.6 million patients were treated last year in about 1,200 medical centers, clinics, nursing homes and other facilities. About 2.7 million veterans and 620,000 family members received VA disability pay or pensions in 2000.