Will GOP Congress honor VA funding?

We saw veterans suffering and ignored while the GOP held the most seats in congress before but now there are more Tea Party folks like Bachmann not caring about what veterans need. We all know about the backlog of claims and the need to take care of veterans with the usual wounds along with illnesses, the aging population, increase of Agent Orange illnesses topped of with PTSD and TBI. With all of this, when the need is so great, will they honor veterans with their votes or will they betray them with their lip service?

VA Announces Budget Request for 2012

Shinseki Pledges to Continue to be "Good Steward" of Resources

WASHINGTON (Feb. 14, 2011) - In announcing the proposed budget for the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) during the next fiscal year,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki emphasized "making every
dollar" count in the $132 billion budget proposal for VA.

"We will continue to wisely use the funds that Congress appropriates for
us to further improve the quality of life for Veterans and their
families through the efficiency of our operations," said Secretary of
Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki

"In the current constrained fiscal environment, every dollar counts,"
Shinseki added. "We have put into place management systems and
initiatives to maximize efficiency and effectiveness, and to eliminate
waste."

The budget request for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 must be
approved by Congress before taking effect.



Health Care

The budget request seeks nearly $51 billion for medical care. It would
provide care to more than 6.2 million patients, including nearly 540,000
Veterans of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The budget request also includes almost $1 billion for a contingency
fund and $1.2 billion of operational improvements to manage the
appropriated funds in a fiscally responsible manner.

Major health care provisions include:

* $6.2 billion for mental health programs, including $68
million directly for suicide prevention;

* $344 million to activate newly constructed medical
facilities;

* $208 million to implement new benefits for Veterans'
caregivers;

* Nearly $509 million for research; and

Shinseki noted the department has created "a portfolio of initiatives"
to improve the quality of VA care while making it easier for patients to
access services. Primary care providers will put more emphasis upon
disease prevention and healthy living. New technology - securing
e-mails, social networking and telehealth - will be harnessed to meet
the evolving needs of patients.

For example, in 2010, a daily average of more than 31,000 patients took
advantage of VA's telehome health care. The budget proposal will allow
more than 50,000 people daily to use this innovative, at-home care.

Among the department's operational improvements is a provision that
calls for VA to implement Medicare's standard payment rates, a measure
that will free $315 million for other health care needs.



Benefits

The proposed budget for the new fiscal year includes more than $70
billion in "mandatory" benefits programs, a category consisting mostly
of VA disability compensation and pension payments.

Shinseki reaffirmed his commitment to "break the back of the backlog" of
claims from Veterans for disability compensation and pensions. VA's
goal is to provide Veterans with decisions on their claims within 125
days at a 98 percent accuracy rate by 2015.

Various initiatives support continued redesign of VA's business
processes and development of a paperless claims system to improve the
efficiency of VA's handling of applications for compensation and
pensions. Among the major projects is one to provide Veterans with
streamlined forms to present to non-VA physicians who are evaluating
Veterans for disability benefits, while another new program allows
online application for claims related to exposure to Agent Orange.



Homelessness Prevention

The funding request includes nearly $940 million for specific programs
to prevent and reduce homelessness among Veterans and their families.
This funding is a 17 percent increase over the current budget of nearly
$800 million.

"Homelessness is both a housing and a health care issue," Shinseki said.
"Our 2012 budget plan supports a comprehensive approach to eliminating
Veterans' homelessness by making key investments in homeless and mental
health programs."



Education and Training

The requested budget for "mandatory" benefits programs includes nearly
$11.5 billion for VA education, training, vocational rehabilitation and
employment programs, including educational benefit programs VA
administers for the Department of Defense. Approximately 925,000 people
will receive benefits under these programs. Nearly three-quarters of
the funds will go to recipients of the new Post-9/11 GI Bill.

The budget proposal continues development of an automated Post-9/11 GI
Bill claims processing system that will speed tuition and housing
payments to eligible Veterans.



Information Technology

VA will seek nearly $3.2 billion for the new fiscal year to operate and
maintain its information technology (IT).

"IT is the key to bringing VA into the 21st century," Shinseki said. "It
allows for the efficient delivery of health care and benefits."

A recent independent study found that VA invested $4 billion in medical
IT from 1997 to 2007, which generated $7 billion in savings, mostly from
the elimination of duplicate medical tests and the reduction of medical
errors.

VA has a major role in the development of the "virtual lifetime
electronic record" as part of an inter-agency federal initiative to
provide complete and portable electronic health records for service
members, Veterans, other family members and, eventually, all Americans.


Through a disciplined approach to IT projects, VA transformed its
software development processes, meeting product delivery schedules over
80 percent of the time.

VA is consolidating its IT requirements into 15 major contracts, which
will lower costs and increase oversight and accountability. Seven of
the 15 contracts are set-aside for Veteran-owned businesses, and four of
those seven are reserved for small businesses owned by service-disabled
Veterans.



Construction

Nearly $590 million in major construction is included within next year's
budget request.

"This reflects the department's continued commitment to provide quality
health care and benefits through improving its facilities to be modern,
safe and secure for Veterans," Shinseki said.

The funding proposal provides for the continuation of seven ongoing
construction projects at health care facilities - New Orleans; Denver;
San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Louis; Palo Alto, Calif.; Bay Pines, Fla.,
and Seattle - plus new projects in Reno, Nev.; Los Angeles and San
Francisco.

Also in the budget request is $550 million for minor construction for
such purposes as seismic corrections, improvements for patient safety,
and enhancements for access and patient privacy.

Additionally, the spending proposal includes funds for a gravesite
expansion project at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in
Hawaii.



National Cemeteries

VA is seeking more than $250 million next year for the operation and
maintenance of its 131 national cemeteries.

The department expects to inter about 115,000 people next year at its
national cemeteries. Nearly 90 percent of the U.S. population is within
75 miles of a VA-run national cemetery or a state-run Veterans cemetery.

For the fourth consecutive time in 10 years, VA's system of national
cemeteries has bested the nation's top corporations and other federal
agencies in a prestigious, independent survey of customer satisfaction.

The fiscal year 2012 budget plan includes $46 million to fund creation
and improvement of state Veterans cemeteries and tribal government
Veterans cemeteries.

Further information about VA's budget proposal for fiscal year 2012 is
available on the Internet at www.va.gov/budget/products.asp.