President Bush Expected To Approve $3.7B in ‘Contingency’ Funding for Veterans
President Bush this week is expected to approve $3.7 billion in "contingency" funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the majority of which is expected to go to the Veterans Health Administration, CQ Today reports. The funding was included in a $555 billion omnibus spending bill (PL 110-161) that Bush signed last month. VA on Tuesday signed off on the release of the contingency funding, according to administration sources. The money will fund medical services, administration, facilities and research accounts for the health administration. Bush must formally request the funds from Congress.
The move ends "speculation over whether the White House would block release of the funding," according to CQ Today. The Bush administration had said that it did not oppose the contingency funding, but it asked Congress to offset the funding with reductions in other spending. Congress refused and retained the "emergency" designation on the funds.
Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Democrats in a Dec. 21, 2007, letter to Bush wrote, "Providing the full level of appropriated funds to VA will ensure, among other things, that the department will be able to provide timely access to services, furnish improved mental health services and develop the needed capacity to handle the massive claims backlog." Joe Violante, legislative director of the Disabled American Veterans, said, "We appreciate the fact that the president is going to request the additional and much-needed funding for veterans' programs" (Yoest, CQ Today, 1/9).
