Budget reform needed for Veterans health care, partnership says
A coalition of national veterans service organizations has again
called on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee to schedule
hearings on legislation that would replace the current discretionary
funding mechanism that puts patients at risk and makes it impossible
for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to operate effectively.
The nine organizations that make up the Partnership for Veterans
Health Care Budget Reform have long sought congressional hearings to
explore ways to guarantee full funding for veterans health care, but
those requests have not been honored.
The latest request for hearings was made in a Nov. 1 letter taking
issue with outgoing Chairman Buyer's recent assertion that the
current discretionary appropriations process has been a "successful
funding approach" to meeting the health care needs of America's sick
and disabled veterans.
"The discretionary budget has become highly politicized and puts at
risk the VA health care system and its patient population. In the
past 12 years," the partnership letter noted, "Congress has
completed only one regular VA appropriations bill by the start of
the new fiscal year. Unfortunately, the norm has become a series of
continuing resolutions each year that funds VA at the previous
year's level, holding down spending and finally lumping VA's budget
into an omnibus spending bill."
"This annual limbo hinders effective staffing decisions,
construction planning, and day-to-day management by VA leaders.
Additionally, VA funding growth has not nearly kept pace with its
patient workload demands," the letter said. "A method of assured
funding, such as H.R. 515 (Assured Funding for Veterans Health Care
Act), would eliminate the year-to-year uncertainty about funding
levels. Annual fiscal turbulence rarely occurs in comparable
mandatory spending programs. It is blatantly unrealistic to expect
VA to manage efficiently and carry out its missions expertly without
knowing what its projected budget will be or when funds will be
approved."
Outgoing Chairman Buyer has said that mandatory funding is an
"inferior approach to funding" and that Congress would lose its
"oversight clout" of the VA health care system under a mandatory
funding mechanism. However, the partnership believes that guaranteed
funding would simply ensure that VA is provided the necessary
resources to care for the enrolled patient population.
In a letter mailed to Representative Buyer before the Nov. 7
election the partnership letter also noted that all other mandatory
programs still receive congressional oversight. "We would expect
your committee to hold VA accountable for how it spends every dollar
and how well VA manages its health care programs."
Each organization in the partnership has approved resolutions that
support guaranteed funding for veterans' health care.
The Partnership for Veterans Health Care Budget Reform includes The
American Legion, AMVETS, Blinded Veterans Association, Disabled
American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans of the USA, Military Order of
the Purple Heart of the U.S.A, Paralyzed Veterans of America,
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and Vietnam Veterans
of America.