The VA’s budget could top $300 billion for fiscal 2023
Congressional negotiators are working the details of a budget that could give the VA a budget that tops $300 billion. The VA is looking to receive $303.8 billion for fiscal 2023 if this is finalized and approved. From this total, $118.7 billion would go into VA medical care services. The Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy says that this would be a responsible plan to support veterans and national defense.
From the Navy Times:
The $1.7 trillion omnibus appropriations bill that lawmakers hope to finalize later this week includes $303.8 billion in VA funding for fiscal 2023, the largest ever for the department. That’s up about 10% from fiscal 2022 levels.
VA medical care services would be the main beneficiary of the funding boost, seeing more than a 22% increase ($118.7 billion) from fiscal 2022 levels.
In a statement, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), called the appropriations package a responsible plan for supporting veterans, national defense and a host of other government priorities.
“The pain of inflation on American families is real, and it is being felt right now across the federal government,” he said. “From funding for nutrition programs and housing assistance, to home energy costs and college affordability, our bipartisan, bicameral, omnibus appropriations bill directly invests in providing relief from the burden of inflation on the American people.”
Lawmakers need to finalize the funding plan by the end of the week or risk triggering a partial government shutdown just before the Christmas holiday.
If approved, the VA appropriations would continue a string of significant yearly increases for the department’s spending.
In 2001, the entire VA budget — including both discretionary program spending and mandatory benefits payouts — amounted to about $45 billion. By 2013, the budget totaled $139 billion, still less than half of this year’s request.
For fiscal 2023, the discretionary program portion of VA’s budget alone totals $135.2 billion.
It includes $2.7 billion for homeless prevention programs (up 25% from last year), $1.9 billion for caregiver programs (up $35%), $13.9 billion for mental health care (up 6%), and $916 million for medical and prosthetics research (up 4%).
The bill also includes $5 billion for the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund, which provides additional money for implementation of the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, better known as the PACT Act.
The Navy Times has additional information.
Category: Veteran Health Care, Veterans' Affairs Department
That’s what I like about the VA, always doing less with more.
Lets see there are an estimated 34,000 homeless vets. $2,700,000,000 divided by 34K, carry the y, and we come up with $7941 per homeless vet. Divided by 12 and that is enough to pay $661 a month in housing costs per vet.
That is more than enough to lease low cost housing and sticks vets in them.
But you know what is a better idea? Just hire a bunch of overpaid government servants that sit around all day and dream up ways to help vets and don’t actually do anything at all. Oh, and maybe print some pamphlets too.
$661 to lease housing? Better relook your local rental rates…and double (or triple, depending on the area) that.
My first hit I got multiple 3 Bedroom apartments for $1550 a month. Those aren’t even low cost Section 8 type housing. Just regular apartments.
https://www.legacyvillagespringfield.com/availableunits?bed=3&calledfrom=home
3 vets housed and that leaves $433 to pay utilities. I think they can make it.
300 billion will buy a lot of gender surgery and follow up therapy.
Boondoggle.
Lets see
10% increase is right around the inflation rate since health care costs increased faster than the CPI’s 8.3%
So if lucky it kept up with inflation.
All well and good that the VA is getting more $. Sadly, a good portion it will be spent on salaries and bonuses. The rest will just be pissed away. “…to care for the Veteran, his widow and his orphans…”. What’s even sadder is “We have to pass this bill to see what is in it.” A perusal of an article about the budget bill gave highlights of a pork laden boondoggle that would make the proverbial drunken sailor seem like a piker. Hundreds of millions for “Border Security” for ME Countries with a minimum of 150 million earmarked for Jordan. More billions to Africa for climate change and nearly 50 billion more for the ‘Kraine.
The Congress is worthless. Every damn one of them needs to be fired. Change my mind…I’ll wait.
YAY! Now I’ll get the hearing aids I’ve been scheduled for since 2003!
*that was sarcasm btw*
And if I showed up, I’d be shown the door before I showed them my 214.
Meanwhile, turds who never served are pulling 100% disability checks.
We knew how much waste there was 20+ years ago. Now, with a budget 8x larger serving (maybe?) half the same population (given most WWII and Korea vets are gone, and average VN vet is well into their 70’s…) what kind of shitshow are we gonna encounter now?
That is a butt ton of money for an outfit that gets less done than congress.
Well, now John Kerry and “Da Nang Dick” can get more bennies. And maybe they can sew Tammy Duckworth’s mouth shut.