Reed, Colleagues Urge President to Address VA Shortfall in Tuesday Address to Nation

Reed, Colleagues Urge President to Address VA Shortfall in Tuesday Address to Nation
Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Senators urge Bush to 'provide a full accounting' of the cost of caring for our veterans

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) joined with Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) in sending a letter to President Bush calling on him to tell the American people how he plans to make up for a shortfall of $1 billion in the Veterans Administration's (VA) budget.

The Department of Veterans affairs announced last week that they are facing a $1 billion health care funding shortfall for fiscal year 2005. The announcement came just two weeks after VA Secretary Jim Nicholson assured Senator Murray that he saw no need for additional funding and only two months after the administration vehemently argued against the need for more money - raising loud, consistent objections to Senator Murray's efforts to increase funding for the VA.

The letter stated:

"Mr. President, we urge you to provide the American people with a full accounting of the cost of these conflicts, including the cost of caring for our veterans upon their return home, during your Tuesday evening address. We ask that you directly share with the nation how your administration will make up the VA's current FY 2005 budget shortfall of $1 billion, as well as the looming shortfall projected for the future. And, we stand ready to work with you to pass an emergency spending bill to address this shortfall before the July 4th Congressional recess."

Reed has cosponsored legislation to pay for the funding shortfall through an emergency spending package.

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Full text of the letter to President Bush follows:

June 27, 2005

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Mr. President:

As you prepare for your Tuesday evening address to the nation regarding our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, we urge you to take this opportunity to level with the American people about a major cost of these conflicts - the care of our nation's veterans.

As of January 2005, over 1 million U.S. troops have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past 3 and one half years. The Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) annual mid-year budget review confirmed that many of these soldiers have returned home and are beginning to access the VA health care system in record numbers, placing increased demands on an already overburdened agency. Many of us saw a looming crisis and sought to take steps that would avert it.

With the recent announcement that the VA is facing a shortfall of approximately $1 billion in fiscal year 2005 it seems that our concerns are well founded. Unfortunately, the VA's current shortfall, and larger shortfalls predicted for future years, has confirmed that your Administration has not prudently addressed the budget impacts of these conflicts. We urge you to do so now. Only by confronting this problem head-on can we ensure that our veterans receive the support and healthcare they were both promised and deserve.

Adjusted for inflation, the VA is spending 25-percent less per patient than it did in fiscal year 2000. Some veterans have to wait over three years to have surgery. And some VA hospitals are only seeing veterans who have more than a 50-percent service-connected disability. The evidence that the VA cannot function under your proposed budgets and needs immediate relief to provide veterans access to quality health care continues to mount.

War is costly. This is a lesson we all know personally. As Senators we have dealt with legislation authorizing the use of military force, we have worked on spending bills to support our troops, and we have talked to the families of those who have lost loved ones. We also know that failing to provide for the men and women who have sacrificed for our freedom is wrong.

In a September 7, 2003 speech to the nation you stated, "the heaviest burdens in our war on terror fall, as always, on the men and women of our Armed Forces and our intelligence services. They have removed gathering threats to America and our friends, and this nation takes great pride in their incredible achievements. We are grateful for their skill and courage, and for their acts of decency, which have shown America's character to the world. We honor the sacrifice of their families."

Mr. President, we urge you to provide the American people with a full accounting of the cost of these conflicts, including the cost of caring for our veterans upon their return home, during your Tuesday evening address. We ask that you directly share with the nation how your administration will make up the VA's current FY 2005 budget shortfall of $1 billion, as well as the looming shortfall projected for the future. And, we stand ready to work with you to pass an emergency spending bill to address this shortfall before the July 4th Congressional recess.

http://reed.senate.gov/veterans/VAShortfall.htm