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April 2001
Fiscal Year 2002 Budget Process
The President has submitted a "bare bones" budget to Congress,
requesting a $1 billion increase in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
discretionary spending above the fiscal year (FY) 2001 level. A
detailed budget will be submitted later in April.
The House Veterans' Affairs Committee recommended an additional $1.1
billion increase above the President's proposed budget, for a total
increase of $2.1 billion in discretionary spending.
On March 21, 2001, the House Budget Committee recommended a $1.7 billion
increase over the FY 2001 discretionary spending level. This is about
$400 million below the recommendation of the House Veterans' Affairs
Committee. On March 28, 2001, the House passed H. Con. Res. 83,
the budget resolution.
During the debate on H. Con. Res. 83, an amendment was offered by
Representative Bob Clement (D-TN) to incorporate funding for H.R. 303
into the FY 2002 budget resolution. However, a substitute
amendment was offered by Representative Mac Thornberry (R-TX) and
adopted in the course of the debate. The text of the amendment
follows:
(a) FINDINGS- Congress finds that the Secretary of Defense is the
appropriate official for evaluating the existing standards for the
provision of concurrent retirement and disability benefits to retired
members of the Armed Forces and the need to change these standards.
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS- It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Secretary of Defense should report to the congressional
committees of jurisdiction on the provision of concurrent retirement and
disability benefits to retired members of the Armed Forces;
(2) the report should address the number of individuals retired from the
Armed Forces who would otherwise be eligible for disability
compensation, the comparability of the policy to Office of Personnel
Management guidelines for civilian Federal retirees, the applicability
of this policy to prevailing private sector standards, the number of
individuals potentially eligible for concurrent benefits who receive
other forms of Federal assistance and the cost of that assistance, and
alternative initiatives that would accomplish the same end as concurrent
receipt of military retired pay and disability compensation;
(3) the Secretary of Defense should submit legislation that he considers
appropriate; and
(4) upon receiving such report, the committees of jurisdiction, working
with the Committees on the Budget of the House and Senate, should
consider appropriate legislation.
On March 27, 2001, National Commander Armando C. Albarran sent a letter
to the Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL), calling on him to use
his position of leadership to ensure the passage of concurrent receipt
legislation in this Congress. A copy of this letter can be found
at www.dav.org, and similar letters to
the Speaker can be sent from the legislative action page of our web
site.
During the Senate debate on the budget for FY 2002, Senators Paul
Wellstone (D-MN) and Tim Johnson (D-SD) introduced an amendment to
increase funding for VA health care by $1.7 billion above the
Administration's recommendation; for an overall increase of $2.6 billion
above the FY 2001 level. This is the same level recommended in the
Independent Budget (IB). This amendment passed by a vote of 53 to
46. Key to the passage of this amendment was the support of four
Republican Senators, John McCain (R-AZ), Arlen Specter (R-PA), John
Ensign (R-NV), and James Jeffords (R-VT). The only Democratic
Senator voting against it was Senator Zell Miller (D-GA).
Another amendment, offered by Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond
(R-MO), increased VA discretionary spending in FY 2002 by almost $1
billion, raising the total increase for VA discretionary spending by
$3.5 billion for FY 2002. Again, this is the same level of
spending recommended in the IB. The vote was 98 to 1.
Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) was the only dissenting vote.
By voice vote on April 5, 2001, the Senate approved an amendment
introduced by Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) to provide funding in the budget
resolution to pay for concurrent receipt legislation as contained in
H.R. 303 and S. 170.
We are very encouraged by these events; however, the House and Senate
conferees must meet in conference to work out the differences in the
House and Senate passed versions of the budget resolutions. Also,
the budget resolution is only a "blueprint" and need not be
followed by the appropriators. Therefore, our efforts to encourage
our members of Congress to retain these funding increases must continue,
as the budget process moves into the final stages.
Highlights of each budget proposal
follow below:
Highlights of the Administration's FY 2002 Budget:
· Provides more than $51 billion for veterans' benefits and
services: $28.1 billion for mandatory entitlements and $23.4
billion in net discretionary budget authority to administer veterans'
benefits and provide medical care and burial services.
· Increases net discretionary budget authority by $1 billion, or 4.5
percent, over the FY 2001 level.
· "Ensures" that the nation's veterans receive high-quality
health care, accurate and timely entitlement benefits, and a continued
commitment to make veterans' cemeteries national shrines.
· "Implements" a Presidential initiative to ensure the timely
and accurate processing of veterans' disability claims, while
strengthening the VA's "duty to assist" role.
· "Focuses" VA's health care system on its core mission of
providing high-quality health care to veterans with disabilities or low
incomes; and supports the President's new task force to study ways of
improving health care access and quality.
Highlights of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee's budget
recommendation:
· A $1.525 billion increase for health care.
· Research funding increased by $30 million.
· 830 new employees for claims adjudication, the same increase as
recommended in the IB.
· A $2.1 billion increase in total discretionary spending for VA, $1.3
billion less than recommended by the IB, but $1.1 billion more than the
Administration's request.
House Budget Committee recommendation:
· $750 million above the Administration's request, for a total increase
of $1.75 billion in discretionary funding.
Highlights of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee's budget
recommendation:
· A $1.8 billion increase for health care.
· Research funding increased by $30 million.
· Almost 900 new employees to address the claims backlog.
· A $2.149 billion increase in total discretionary funding for VA,
slightly higher than the recommendations of the House Veterans' Affairs
Committee.
Senate Budget recommendation:
· A $2.6 billion increase for VA health care above the FY 2001 level.
· A total increase in discretionary funding of $3.5 billion.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
On March 27, 2001, the House of Representatives unanimously passed two
important bills affecting veterans. On twin votes of 417-0, the
House approved the Veterans Opportunities Act (H.R. 801) and the
Veterans Hospital Emergency Repair Act (H.R. 811). The measures
have been sent to the Senate for action.
The Veterans Opportunities Act upgrades veterans' education, burial,
disability, pension, and transition benefits. The Veterans
Hospital Emergency Repair Act authorizes $250 million in fiscal year
2002 and $300 million in FY 2003 for major medical facility repair and
construction projects.
H.R. 801 provides retroactive effective date of October 1, 2000, for the
$250,000 maximum benefit in the Servicemembers Group Life Insurance,
permitting increased benefits to be paid under certain conditions to
beneficiaries of servicemembers who lost their lives in the performance
of duty. This would allow beneficiaries of those killed aboard the
USS Cole and in recent military aircraft crashes, for example, to
receive the higher rate of benefits.
As passed by the House, H.R. 801,
the Veterans Opportunities Act would:
· Increase the automobile and adaptive equipment grant for severely
disabled veterans from $8,000 to $9,000.
· Increase the grant for specially adapted housing for severely
disabled veterans from $43,000 to $48,000, and increase the amount for
less severely disabled veterans from $8,250 to $9,250.
· Increase the burial and funeral allowance made to the family of
veterans who die from service-connected causes from $1,500 to $2,000,
increase the burial and funeral allowances for nonservice-connected
veterans from $300 to $500, and increase the burial plot allowances from
$150 to $300.
· Expand the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) program to
include spouses and children. Spousal coverage will not exceed
$100,000; child coverage would be $10,000. Upon termination of
SGLI, the spouse's policy could be converted to a private life insurance
policy.
· Make the effective date of an increase from $200,000 to $250,000 in
the maximum SGLI benefit provided for in Public Law 106-419 retroactive
to October 1, 2000, for a servicemember who died in the performance of
duty and had the maximum amount of insurance in force.
· Increase from $2,000 to $3,400 the maximum allowable annual ROTC
award for benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill.
· Expand VA's work-study program for veterans to include working in
their major academic discipline, working in state veterans homes, and
helping state approving agencies with outreach efforts.
· Provide for inclusion of certain private technology entities in the
definition of education institution.
· Allow the disabled spouse or surviving spouse of a severely disabled
service-connected veteran to receive special restorative training.
· Permit veterans to use VA education assistance benefits for a
certificate program offered by an accredited institution of higher
learning by way of independent study.
· Provide VA the authority to maintain transition assistance offices
overseas.
· Extend the time that pre-separation counseling is available to
servicemembers leaving the service to as early as 12 months before
discharge, and 24 months prior to discharge for military retirees.
· Improve education and training outreach services by requiring each
State Approving Agency to conduct outreach programs and provide services
to eligible veterans and dependents about state and federal education
and training benefits.
· For purposes of VA's outreach programs, defines an eligible dependent
as the spouse, surviving spouse, child or dependent parent of a
servicemember or veteran.
· Require VA to ensure that eligible dependents are made aware of VA's
services through media and veterans' publications.
· Require VA to provide to the veteran or eligible dependent
information concerning VA benefits and services whenever that person
first applies for any benefit.
POW/MIA SUMMIT
The Disabled American Veterans will host a national summit on POW/MIA
issues on Thursday, September 20, 2001, in Washington, D.C.
The summit will include briefings and panel discussions which will focus
on issues surrounding Americans taken prisoner or listed as missing in
action from World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War,
and the Persian Gulf War. One of the summit's aims is to assess
the current status of efforts to achieve the fullest possible accounting
of these missing Americans, including those who might still be
alive. Another is to provide a broad perspective on salient issues
as a way of informing and influencing our nation's POW/MIA-related
public policy, both current and future.
We will provide more information in the near future about the upcoming
summit. We hope you will be able to join us for this important
event.
BILLS INTRODUCED IN THE 107th
CONGRESS
The following bills have been introduced in the House and Senate since
February 2001. This list includes bills of interest to disabled
veterans and their families.
· H.R. 764, a bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide a
presumption of service connection for injuries classified as cold
weather injuries which occur in veterans who sustained exposure to cold
weather while engaged in military operations.
· H.R. 879, a bill to restore veterans benefits for tobacco-related
illnesses as in effect before the enactment of the Transportation Equity
Act for the 21st Century.
· H.R. 936, a bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve
programs for homeless veterans, and for other purposes.
· H.R. 1351, a bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide
for government-furnished headstones or markers for the marked graves of
veterans.
· H.R. 1406, a bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve
presumptive compensation benefits for veterans with ill-defined
illnesses resulting from the Persian Gulf War, and for other purposes.
· S. 278, the Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act,
would require the government to pay 100 percent of health care costs for
members who entered active duty on or prior to June 7, 1956, and who
subsequently earned longevity retirement, by extending to these retirees
the option of coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits
program.
· S. 405, a bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve
outreach programs carried out by the VA to provide for more fully
informing veterans of benefits available to them under laws administered
by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
· S. 409, the Persian Gulf War Illness Compensation Act, which would
extend the presumptive period for the undiagnosed illnesses provision
until December 2011. It would also clarify the standards for
compensation for Persian Gulf veterans suffering from undiagnosed
illnesses. The bill would grant compensation for undiagnosed
illnesses and for ill-defined conditions such as fibromyalgia.
CONCLUSION
As always, your support of DAV's legislative goals has helped us ensure
the passage in the House of a number of provisions in H.R. 801 that
address current DAV resolutions to increase benefits for our nation's
disabled veterans. Your support has also ensured increased funding
for VA programs thus far in the budget process.
Although our work with Congress is not yet complete, and the legislative
staff will probably need your further support throughout this Congress,
I hope that you feel a strong sense of accomplishment in helping
Congress understand the importance of keeping our government's
commitment to its veterans.
Please accept the sincere thanks of the staff for your continued support
of DAV's legislative goals and your efforts on behalf of our nation's
disabled veterans and their families.
/s/
JOSEPH A. VIOLANTE
National Legislative Director
JAV:lmb
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