VFW Washington Weekly - February 19, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 11:55 AM
by southcarolina
In This Issue:1. Senate Hearing on VA Budget
2. House VA Committee Hearings
3. GI Bill Press Conference
4. Vets Need to Apply for Rebates
5. Reservist & Veteran Small Business Help
1. Senate Hearing on VA Budget: The VFW testified this week on behalf of the Independent Budget (IB) before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. On the heels of last week's hearing before the House VA Committee, we again presented our views on the construction portion of the proposed FY 2009 VA budget. We believe the VA construction funding is woefully inadequate and does not come close to meeting the IB's recommendation of $1.275 billion for construction projects. Both major and minor construction are almost half of what was in last year's budget, with major construction almost $700 million short and minor construction almost $300 million short. Committee members addressed their concerns with VA's overall funding with nods to research dollars, outreach to Guard and Reserves, and to updating the GI Bill. As proposed the budget is $3 billion short in total discretionary funds, which includes $1.6 billion short for medical care, $113 million short for medical/prosthetic research, and $300 million short for disability claims processing. For full VFW testimony, visit the Senate VA website at: http://veterans.senate.gov/public/
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