House Subcommittee Passes FY 2009 Military Construction-VA Appropriations Bill
The House Appropriations Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Thursday by voice vote approved a $118.7 billion fiscal year 2009 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs appropriations bill, CQ Today reports. The legislation includes $72.2 billion in discretionary spending, an $8.8 billion increase from FY 2008 and $3.4 billion more than President Bush requested.
The bill would provide VA with $47.7 billion in discretionary spending and $46 billion in mandatory spending (CQ Today, 6/12). Under the legislation, VA would receive a $4.6 billion increase in discretionary spending from FY 2008 and $2.9 billion more than Bush requested (Kreisher, CongressDaily, 6/13). The VA budget includes $3.8 billion for specialty health services and $584 million for substance abuse programs (CQ Today, 6/12). In addition, the VA budget includes $1.1 billion for the expansion of six department hospitals (Taylor, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 6/12).
The bill also would provide $40.7 billion for the Veterans Health Administration, a $1.6 billion increase from FY 2008. The VHA budget includes:
- $568 million for a 10% increase in enrollment of Priority 8 veterans;
- $300 million for non-reoccurring maintenance at VA facilities;
- $200 million to increase access to fee-based care for veterans who do not live near a VA facility;
- $116 million for new generation prosthetics;
- $58 million for medical research in trauma, mental health and other areas; and
- $50 million to increase the travel reimbursement rate from 28 cents per mile to 35 cents per mile (CQ Today, 6/12).
The legislation would provide funds for an additional 1,400 disability claims processors (CongressDaily, 6/13). In addition, the bill would increase subcommittee oversight of the treatment that VA provides for veterans with mental illnesses, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse problems and suicidal tendencies (CQ Today, 6/12).
The House Appropriations Committee plans to consider the legislation on Thursday (CongressDaily, 6/13). According to the AP/San Francisco Chronicle, the bill faces an "uncertain future" because "election-year politics are likely to grind Congress' annual appropriations process to a halt" and because Bush likely will threaten a veto (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 6/12).
Supplemental War Appropriations Bill
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday said that she expects Congress and the White House to reach an agreement on a supplemental war appropriations bill before the July 4 recess, Roll Call reports. She said, "I have made it clear to the White House" that Congress will approve legislation that the "president can sign." She added that, with less than three weeks until the recess, lawmakers "don't have that much time left" to resolve their differences on domestic spending provisions in the bill. According to Pelosi, the legislation likely will include "some measure of Medicaid fixes" (Bendery, Roll Call, 6/12).
