After years of complaining about being kept waiting by a government that moves at its own pace veterans may get special treatment.
Instead of standing in line for one-year-at-a-time appropriations that often miss the fiscal year deadline the Veterans Administration would get its money two years ahead of time under a proposal being pushed by President Obama and backed by Democratic leaders in Congress.
The care our veterans receive should never be hindered by budget delays" Obama said Thursday.
Obama wants Congress to fund the VA for the next two fiscal years and then stay two years ahead.
The chairmen of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees Bob Filner D-Calif. and Daniel K. Akaka D-Hawaii have sponsored bills (HR 1016 S 423) that would allow Congress to write VA appropriations two years ahead. Both bills would apply only to health programs not other department accounts.
President Obamas reaffirmed commitment to securing timely and predictable funding for the veterans health care system is welcome news" Akaka said in a statement. He plans to have a hearing on his bill April 22.
The Senate last week amended its budget resolution (S Con Res 13) for fiscal year 2010 to include language offered by James Inhofe R-Okla. that would allow advance appropriations for veterans medical care.
I was pleased to see that the budget resolution passed by the Senate supports this concept in a bipartisan manner" the president said.
An endorsement from the White House is the first hurdle" in getting legislation passed said Rep. Michael H. Michaud D-Maine who co-sponsored Filners bill.
Its very helpful to have the president on board and the secretary of the VA to encourage others who may have been reluctant" Michaud said.
Joint Health Records Plan
Obama also said he will push for a system that streamlines the transfer of medical records between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the veterans health system.
Obama said the separate arms of the government will work to build a joint network containing administrative and medical information for active duty personnel and veterans from the day they first enlist to the day they are laid to rest."
Currently there is no comprehensive system in place that allows for a streamlined transition of health records between DoD and the VA" Obama said. That results in extraordinary hardship for an awful lot of veterans who end up finding their records lost and they are unable to get their benefits processed in a timely fashion. When a member of the armed forces separates from the military; he or she will no longer have to walk paperwork from a DOD duty station to a local VA health center; their electronic records will transition with them and remain with them forever."
The network is intended to allow military medical records to move seamlessly from active duty to the VA.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi D-Calif. said the House would support the joint venture.
Paul Rieckhoff executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) said the initiative will help simplify the transition from the DOD to the VA for our nations heroes and improve care for all veterans especially the more than 33000 wounded troops from Iraq and Afghanistan."
Obama also called for multibillion-dollar increases to the VAs budget including the expansion of education benefits and programs for homeless veterans.
Adjoa Adofo contributed to this story.
After years of complaining about being kept waiting by a government that moves at its own pace veterans may get special treatment.
Instead of standing in line for one-year-at-a-time appropriations that often miss the fiscal year deadline the Veterans Administration would get its money two years ahead of time under a proposal being pushed by President Obama and backed by Democratic leaders in Congress.
The care our veterans receive should never be hindered by budget delays" Obama said Thursday.
Obama wants Congress to fund the VA for the next two fiscal years and then stay two years ahead.
The chairmen of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees Bob Filner D-Calif. and Daniel K. Akaka D-Hawaii have sponsored bills (HR 1016 S 423) that would allow Congress to write VA appropriations two years ahead. Both bills would apply only to health programs not other department accounts.
President Obamas reaffirmed commitment to securing timely and predictable funding for the veterans health care system is welcome news" Akaka said in a statement. He plans to have a hearing on his bill April 22.
The Senate last week amended its budget resolution (S Con Res 13) for fiscal year 2010 to include language offered by James Inhofe R-Okla. that would allow advance appropriations for veterans medical care.
I was pleased to see that the budget resolution passed by the Senate supports this concept in a bipartisan manner" the president said.
An endorsement from the White House is the first hurdle" in getting legislation passed said Rep. Michael H. Michaud D-Maine who co-sponsored Filners bill.
Its very helpful to have the president on board and the secretary of the VA to encourage others who may have been reluctant" Michaud said.
Joint Health Records Plan
Obama also said he will push for a system that streamlines the transfer of medical records between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the veterans health system.
Obama said the separate arms of the government will work to build a joint network containing administrative and medical information for active duty personnel and veterans from the day they first enlist to the day they are laid to rest."
Currently there is no comprehensive system in place that allows for a streamlined transition of health records between DoD and the VA" Obama said. That results in extraordinary hardship for an awful lot of veterans who end up finding their records lost and they are unable to get their benefits processed in a timely fashion. When a member of the armed forces separates from the military; he or she will no longer have to walk paperwork from a DOD duty station to a local VA health center; their electronic records will transition with them and remain with them forever."
The network is intended to allow military medical records to move seamlessly from active duty to the VA.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi D-Calif. said the House would support the joint venture.
Paul Rieckhoff executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) said the initiative will help simplify the transition from the DOD to the VA for our nations heroes and improve care for all veterans especially the more than 33000 wounded troops from Iraq and Afghanistan."
Obama also called for multibillion-dollar increases to the VAs budget including the expansion of education benefits and programs for homeless veterans.
Adjoa Adofo contributed to this story.
