Live from Capitol Hill: AMVETS to Testify Before Senate; Meet with House Minority Leadership

Tomorrow AMVETS will deliver testimony alongside the Independent Budget partners before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and participate in a veterans' support and military support roundtable discussion with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki will sit on the first panel of the hearing, explaining the Obama Administration's budget proposal for VA in fiscal year 2012 and VA health care for 2013.

AMVETS National Legislative Director Christina Roof will then appear alongside IB partners Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed American Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars to discuss the 25th Independent Budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs--a roadmap for how Congress should fund VA, which has been developed by the nation's top veterans' organizations for a quarter century.

The hearing will commence at 10:30 a.m. in Russell Senate Room 418. To view a full list of participants and to read their prepared remarks, Click Here.

Live video should also be available on the committee's Web site at 10:30 tomorrow morning.

Roof appeared before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs two weeks ago alongside the IB partners and Secretary Shinseki, discussing how to best fund VA services in the coming fiscal year.

In the afternoon, AMVETS will also join the nation's leading veterans and military support organizations for a special roundtable discussion on issues facing today's military and veterans' communities with House minority leadership, chaired by Minority Leader Pelosi.

American Veteran will be on hand for both tomorrow's hearing and the roundtable. Check back for highlights from the day's events.

AMVETS, Independent Budget Partners Discuss VA Budget

Yesterday, AMVETS and the partners on the Independent Budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs--Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars--testified before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, discussing the VA budget proposal for fiscal year 2012 and VA health care for 2013.

VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki and his assistant secretaries appeared on the first panel to explain the president's VA budget proposal to the first full committee hearing before the new Republican majority Congress.

To view a full list of participants and their prepared remarks, Click Here.

To view the Web cast of the hearing, Click Here.

Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., the new committee chairman, acknowledged VA's concerted efforts to improve its services, but asked Shinseki if he and his staff could consider other ways to streamline operations while continuing to deliver the requisite care and benefits for American veterans.

In light of the current fiscal crisis, VA was one of only a handful of federal agencies slated to receive an increase in funding in the Obama Administration's budget proposals. Republicans agreed that given the scope of VA's mission, an increase was justified, but reminded Shinseki that his department was not exempt from public outcries to minimize government waste, imploring the secretary and his staff to identify duplicative processes and streamline overhead costs.

Similar questions were posed to representatives of the Independent Budget, who offered to sit down with the chairman and any interested members of the committee to discuss programs where VA may be able to streamline operations.

A major topic of discussion for the hearing was the looming disability claims backlog and VA's ongoing efforts to mitigate wait times for veterans seeking service-connected compensation and care. VA and the Independent Budget partners both applauded VA's ongoing pilot programs aimed at streamlining the process, but several committee members expressed skepticism that VA could meet the ever-growing demand.

Committee Ranking Member Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., proposed an alternative for mitigating the backlog where VA could offer to "buy out" veterans with a lump sum payment when they file disability claims, a proposal which AMVETS has consistently fought against.

While no plans to implement such a system have been formally proposed, AMVETS leaders insisted that they would voice their concerns and help to educate Congressional staff on the potential negative impact on veterans, should such an idea gain momentum.

Military Times discussed the proposed "fire sale" in a story yesterday afternoon.

During the hearing, Shinseki also publicly apologized for the delay in implementing veterans' caregiver benefits, which were signed into law last spring. Shinseki said that VA was forced to develop a new IT infrastructure to pay the new benefit, since payments would go directly to the civilian caregiver, who is technically not enrolled in the VA system.

Stars & Stripes discussed caregiver in-depth in their coverage of the hearing.

During the hearing, Filner also thanked the Independent Budget partners for their tireless efforts to pass advance appropriations for VA health care, since the VA budget for fiscal year 2011 remains in limbo, consistently operating on continuing resolutions. Filner said that thanks to advance appropriations, which were included for the first time in the 2010 budget, VA health care has been able to operate unabated, while Congress continues to debate the final budget for 2011.

"In the first year of [advance appropriations] we already see it was absolutely necessary," Filner said.

On Wednesday, March 2, VA and the Independent Budget partners will present their budget proposals to the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. American Veteran will once again be on hand for the event. Check back on March 1 for more details on the hearing, and check back regularly for updates on the fiscal year 2012 budget process.

(Images: Top: AMVETS National Deputy Legislative Director Christina Roof testifies on the 2012 VA budget proposal before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, flanked by Independent Budget partners Carl Blake of PVA, Ray Kelley of VFW, and Joe Violante of DAV. Bottom: VA Secretary Eric Shinseki presents the president's VA budget proposal alongside his assistant secretaries. Photos by Ryan Gallucci.)

Live from Capitol Hill: House to Hear VA Budget Proposals

Tomorrow morning the House Committee on Veterans Affairs will host its first full committee hearing of the new Congress to discuss the fiscal year 2012 budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki will outline the department's budget proposal and AMVETS National Deputy Legislative Director Christina Roof will join the Independent Budget partners--Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars--to outline the 25th Independent Budget, or IB, proposal.

The hearing will commence at 9:30 a.m. in the committee chambers, 334 Cannon House Office Building.

To view a full list of witnesses and to read their prepared statements, Click Here.

To view live video of the hearing, Click Here.

The Obama Administration issued its budget recommendations for VA on Monday, calling for increased overall investment in the department, which AMVETS National Commander Jerry Hotop called a "good jumping-off point."

In light of the current fiscal climate, VA was one of the few federal agencies tabbed for an increase in funding for 2012, but the IB partners said they believe further investment is needed for VA to properly accomplish its mission--particularly in medical and prosthetics research and major construction projects.

For a quarter century, the IB has served as a road map for the nation's leaders on how to best fund VA, which is why the leaders from the IB organizations said they look forward to the opportunity to outline their recommendations to a new Congress tasked with making difficult fiscal decisions.

In her testimony, Roof will focus on the IB budget recommendations for VA's National Cemetery Administration and veteran entrepreneurship.

“We encourage Congress to review our recommendations and we invite an open dialogue on how to best serve our nation’s heroes,” said Hotop when the IB rolled out yesterday.

American Veteran will be on hand for tomorrow's hearing. Check back with the blog in the afternoon for highlights.

Budget 2012: White House Outlines VA Proposal Today

This morning, the White House released its budget proposal, which include recommendations to fund the Department of Veterans Affairs in fiscal year 2012 and VA health care in 2013.

AMVETS, a member of the Independent Budget, or IB, alongside Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars, will join VA officials this afternoon to discuss specifics behind the proposal.

The IB partners will react to the president's budget proposal this afternoon in advance of the release of the IB recommendations to Congress this week. Check back later today with AMVETS.org for details.

To view the 2012 IB recommendations, Click Here.

AMVETS and Independent Budget Partners Testify on VA Budget for FY2011

Yesterday AMVETS and its partner organizations on the Independent Budget testified before the House Veterans Affairs Committee on the proposed FY2011 VA budget. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki also appeared before the committee to answer questions on the Administration's budget proposal, which was released on Monday. To view video from yesterday's hearing, Click Here.

In his testimony, Shinseki said his goals for VA were to eliminate the claims backlog, improve access, and end homelessness. To read Shinseki's prepared remarks, Click Here.

However, with new presumptions for Agent Orange conditions and a continued influx of complex Iraq and Afghanistan-related benefits claims, VA admitted that the lag time for VA claims may worsen in the short term. VA's goal is to reduce the wait time to 125 days by 2012, completely eliminating the backlog by 2015.

When asked about why claims were more complex, Shinseki deferred to Acting Undersecretary of Benefits Michael Walcoff who explained that successful outreach efforts have made veterans more keenly aware of their entitlements.

"We used to see only two or three issues on each claim, now we're seeing more than four," said Walcoff. "We've had better outreach to veterans and the service organizations are doing a good job of informing veterans--which are all good things--but it adds to the complexity of the work."

In an effort to improve the backlog, VA has asked for an additional 4,000 full time claims processors. However, AMVETS and the nation's other leading VSOs believe that simply more staff will not be enough to solve the problem. AMVETS National Legislative Director Ray Kelley said many options remain on the table to help streamline an antiquated paper-based process.

AMVETS has also proposed shifting VA evaluation criteria to focus on quality of output, rather than quantity, which could significantly reduce the number of appeals in the system.

House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-Calif.) discussed a proposal for VA similar to an IRS auditing system to help deliver benefits in a more timely manner--a proposal that has raised significant concerns for AMVETS and other leading VSOs.

DAV Assistant National Legislative Director John Wilson briefly discussed the backlog during his testimony on behalf of the IB partners.

This is the 24th year that AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America and VFW have partnered to author the IB, which Filner called his Bible when considering how to properly fund VA each fiscal year.

The FY2011 IB is the first to include advance appropriations for the following fiscal year since President Barack Obama signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009 into law last October. The IB partners called on Congress to provide $54.2 billion as a baseline for VA health care in FY2012.

Kelley testified on the VA's National Cemetery Administration and its funding needs on behalf of the IB, applauding NCA for its efficiency. NCA recently expanded its eligibility threshold, affording more veterans with the opportunity to be buried in national cemeteries. To read Kelley's prepared remarks, Click Here.

American Veteran will continue to follow the VA budget process for FY2011. Check back regularly for updates.

(Photos: Top: VA Secretary Shinseki discusses the proposed VA budget before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. Bottom: Kelley testifies on the Independent Budget alongside VFW's Eric Hillman, DAV's John Wilson, and PVA's Carl Blake. Photos by Ryan Gallucci.)

View the Video from Yesterday's VA Budget Hearing

To view the testimony of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, AMVETS Legislative Director Ray Kelley and the Independent Budget partners before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, click here.

During the hearing, committee chairman Robert Filner (D-Calif.) applauded the work of the IB partners, as the committee discusses the FY2010 VA budget. Members of the House committee, including ranking member Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), asked each of the IB partners pointed questions about their budget proposals and ways in which Congress could improve services for veterans.

On Thursday, AMVETS National Commander John Chad Hapner will testify before a special joint session of both the House and Senate committees on veterans' affairs to outline AMVETS' legislative agenda for 2009. Check in with American Veteran Online for up-to-the-minute coverage of the day's hearing.

(Photo: Thumbnail image of yesterday's hearing before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs to discuss the FY2010 VA budget.)

OMB Proposes $55.9 Billion for VA

Last week, AMVETS Legislative Director Ray Kelley and I sat in on a conference call with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to discuss the President's proposed budget for the VA in FY2010. The President has requested $55.9 billion in discretionary funding, an increase of more than $1 billion over our Independent Budget proposal. (The actual line-by-line figures proposed by AMVETS, DAV, PVA and VFW can be viewed here.)

For our team, it's encouraging to see that the new Administration is dedicated to providing the necessary funds to care for our veterans, but we are interested to see how these numbers break down within the budget--information that was unavailable during the call.

From what we've seen, the Obama Administration has set aside increased funding for health care, and plans to reopen eligibility for Priority Eight vets. The President's budget also allows for concurrent receipt of benefits, something we've been looking for for a long time.

Formally, we'll present our Independent Budget recommendations to Congress on Tuesday, March 10, along with our partners at DAV, PVA and VFW. As the budget process evolves, check in with us to see how the President's budget measures up with the IB.

-Ryan