| Veterans
News Flash
VA
Secretary Decries Myth of Budget Cut
WASHINGTON
(April 24, 2003) - The statement below was issued
today by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J.
Principi:
One
of the byproducts of the Internet Age is the blinding
speed with which rumor becomes accepted "fact"
among those willing to believe. More than a century
ago, a wise man wrote, "A lie can get halfway
around the world before the truth gets its boots
on." Today, lies can rocket around the world
before the truth can even find its socks. Only prompt
intervention can squelch rumors before they are
widely accepted as truth.
Here's
a rumor that desperately needs squelching -- On
the eve of our battle to liberate the Iraqi people,
Congress slashed funding to the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA), the organization I am privileged to
lead. This rumor has the potential to frighten our
nation's America's Veterans, and to undermine morale
among our brave troops in the field.
The
rumor has already surfaced on the Internet, in Hollywood,
and on the op-ed pages of the venerable New York
Times. Even a member of Congress, in a Chicago Sun-Times
op-ed published April 13, wrote of a "$28 billion
cut in Veterans' benefits and health care."
If
any such cut in Veterans' benefits were made, Veterans
and their families would be justifiably concerned.
But there is no truth to any suggestion or assertion
that VA's budget will be "cut" or "slashed"
next year. In fact, funding for Veterans programs
will increase in fiscal year 2004, probably by record
levels.
President
Bush's fiscal year 2004 budget requests a record
$63.6 billion for our nation's Veterans, including
a nearly 8-percent increase over the fiscal year
2003 budget for discretionary funding - which mostly
pays for VA's health care system -- and a 32-percent
increase in overall funding since fiscal year 2001.
And the Budget Conference report the House and Senate
agreed to on April 11 raises the suggested levels
of discretionary funding for Veterans by an additional
$1.8 billion.
This
rumor may have been fueled by a parliamentary maneuver
that escaped even the most die-hard C-Span viewers.
At about the time the Iraq war began, the House
of Representatives passed a resolution requesting
House and Senate Appropriations Committee members
to reduce most federal agencies' funding, including
VA's, by 1 percent in fiscal year 2004, a reduction
they believed could be made up by reducing waste,
fraud and abuse at each department.
If
that measure had passed, it would have lowered the
amount of the record increase in funding President
Bush proposed for Veterans, but it would not have
cut VA's funding. Lawmakers, however, quickly recognized
the impact upon Veterans and exempted VA from the
across-the-board reductions.
So,
despite rumors they may hear to the contrary, Veterans
and their families, including our newest generation
of Veterans, should rest secure in the knowledge
that a grateful nation honors their service to America.
These days, the only cuts at VA are to the waiting
lists for medical care and the backlog of compensation
claims. While VA can always use more money, the
interests of America's Veterans and their families
will continue to be protected by Congress, the Department
of Veterans Affairs and the President.
SOURCE:
Military News Feed
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