Fiscal 2009 VA, DOD, DHS appropriations enacted

The federal budget process for fiscal 2009, which has stagnated for most of the summer, was partially addressed in late September. On Sept. 30, the president signed Public Law 110-329, a continuing resolution that will address funding for the federal government for fiscal 2009.

It passed the House of Representatives on Sept. 24 by a recorded vote of 370-58. The Senate passed the measure on Sept. 27 by a 78-12 tally.

The measure has three major portions:

• A disaster relief package, for a total of $22.9 billion, that includes block grants, Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief funding, and community development block grants;

• Funding for the majority of federal programs - with three exceptions noted below - that will keep government agencies functioning through March of next year, but at levels equal to fiscal 2008 funding. This would place the burden of developing fiscal 2009 appropriations bills for the last six months of the fiscal year on the next president and the 111th Congress; and,

• Full fiscal 2009 appropriations for the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs, as well as military construction programs.
The House and Senate leadership agreed to include the three defense/veterans' bills to ensure that some continuity was maintained in the budget process. However, there will still be an enormous burden on the next Congress to develop final spending bills for fiscal 2009. The American Legion lobbied Congress diligently to ensure that VA's fiscal 2009 appropriations were available by Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

Fiscal 2009 Department of Homeland Security funding in the measure totals $39.9 billion for its programs, an increase of nearly $2.4 billion above the White House request. Some of the key provisions include:

• $9.8 billion for the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection;

• $9.1 billion for the U.S. Coast Guard;

• $4.9 billion for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement;

• $819 million for the federal air marshals program; and

• $775 million for U.S.-Mexico border security (included under "Customs and Border Protection" funding).

The military construction accounts in the bill total $25 billion. Specific spending amounts include:

• $8.8 billion for the 2005 Base Realignment and Closing (BRAC) and Re-stationing process;

• $5.5 billion in military construction to support the president's program to increase the size of the armed forces; and

• $458 million to address a backlog in environmental cleanup for bases that were closed during the first four rounds of BRAC.

The fiscal 2009 discretionary VA funding portion of H.R. 2638 totals $47.6 billion, $4.5 billion more than fiscal 2008 totals and $2.8 billion more than the president's request.

The chart below shows the president's VA appropriations request for fiscal 2009, the funding included in the continuing resolution, and The American Legion's funding request outlined in testimony earlier this year.

Among significant increases in the measure are:

• A minimum of $3.8 billion for mental-health services for veterans diagnosed with mental illness, PTSD and TBI, and for suicide prevention;

• $375 million to increase enrollment of Priority Group 8 veterans by 10 percent

• Funding to hire 2,000 more claims processors to reduce the backlog of 390,000 benefits claims, and shorten the six-month processing time for new claims; and

• $1.6 billion to provide veterans with appropriate prosthetic support and sensory aids, in light of recent advances in technology.

The DoD portion of H.R. 2638 would provide $487.7 billion for national defense programs, $28.4 billion more than was appropriated for fiscal 2008, and $4 billion below the president's request.

Funding for accounts of concern to The American Legion include:

• $25.8 billion for Defense Health Programs;

• $8.7 billion missile defense programs;

• $6.3 billion for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, including $2.1 billion for procurement of 14 planes in fiscal 2009; and

• $3.6 billion for further development of Future Combat System vehicles.

VA medical care easures introduced

On Sept. 18, companion measures H.R. 6939 and S. 3527 were introduced in the House and Senate to address the continuing problem of securing timely funding of veterans' health care through a process known as "advance funding." Under the bills - known as the "Veterans Health Care Budget Reform Act" - the Veterans Health Administration would be funded one year in advance. Currently, VHA is funded one year at a time and is too often the victim of delays and short-term budgets.

Under the legislation, Congress would approve VA medical-care appropriations one year in advance of each fiscal year. Unlike proposals to convert VA health care to a mandatory funding program, an advance appropriation does not create PAYGO concerns, since VA health-care funding would remain discretionary and Congress would retain oversight.

In addition, an advance appropriation would provide VA with up to a year in which to plan how to deliver the most efficient and effective care to an increasing number of veterans, with increasingly complex medical conditions.

Furthermore, the new legislation would also task the General Accounting Office with studying and reporting to Congress for the next three years on VA's budget forecasting model and estimates. By shedding sunlight on VA's internal budget process, Congress will be able to develop appropriation bills that provide sufficient funding to meet anticipated demand for VA health care services.

Comp COLA measure becomes law

On Sept. 24, the president signed P.L. 110-324, the "Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2008." The measure passed the House on Sept. 10 by a vote of 418-0. This legislation enacts a cost-of-living adjustment for compensation payments to service-connected disabled veterans, and for rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses of certain disabled veterans. The COLA is expected to be about 2.8 percent - the same as the increase for Social Security recipients - and will be effective Dec. 1.

The American Legion Dispatch