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.
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.
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.)
This afternoon VA unveiled its budget proposal for the FY2011 VA budget, including advance appropriations for veterans' health care in FY2012. AMVETS leaders were on hand, as VA officials gave a comprehensive breakdown of the budget proposal to the nation's top veterans' organizations.
VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and Deputy Secretary Scott Gould explained VA's vision behind the new budget proposal and deputy secretaries from each VA administration were on hand to field questions. In his opening remarks, Shinseki said the FY2011 budget would focus on three areas: improved access to benefits, faster disability claims decisions and putting an end to veterans' homelessness.
VA's total budget proposal calls on Congress to approve $125 billion for VA in FY2011 and an additional $54.3 billion in advance appropriations for VA health care in FY2012. VA officials noted that the proposed figure would represent a 20 percent increase in the total VA budget over the last two years.
The proposed budget provided for increases in funding to meet some of the most significant needs, as identified by AMVETS members for the 2010 Legislative Agenda, including the claims backlog, female veterans' health care, rural and remote veterans' health care, education and mental health.
One of the most significant new investments comes in the form of more than $800 million dedicated to transitional housing programs to assist homeless veterans, as part of the Secretary's five-year plan to end homelessness.
However, with new presumptions for Agent Orange-related conditions, VA is actually expecting the processing time for claims to increase in the short term, before a series of remedies help to alleviate the strains on the current system. While the average wait time in 2009 stood at 161 days, veterans may be waiting up to 190 days in FY2011 due to the influx of Agent Orange claims and continued new claims from Iraq and Afghanistan.
VA's Acting Under Secretary for Benefits Michael Walcoff assured the assembled veterans' groups that the VA's goal was the bring the total processing time down to fewer than 125 days over the next two years, with the addition of more than 4,000 full time employees handling claims and additional resources dedicated to the Veterans Benefits Management System, or VBMS, which would provide a comprehensive IT solution to the current analog claims process.
AMVETS and the Independent Budget partners will unveil their budget proposal to Congress on Thursday. Check back tomorrow for further reaction to VA's announcement and more details about Thursday's hearing on the FY2011 VA budget.
(Image: Cover to the VA's FY2011 budget proposal. Hyperlink to VA's Web page with details on the proposal.)
In tonight’s State of the Union address, President Barack Obama discussed two issues critical to the veterans’ community—the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and the proposed federal budget freeze.
In his speech, the President reiterated his goal of working with the military to overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” allowing gays and lesbians to openly serve in the U.S. military. The President also clarified that while he plans to freeze federal budgets, reducing the national deficit, the freeze will not apply to Defense and VA spending—a clarification which AMVETS applauded. AMVETS National Commander Duane J. Miskulin issued the following statement on tonight’s address.
“AMVETS is happy to see that the President remains dedicated to fully funding America’s defense interests around the world and fulfilling the obligation to fund the needs of today’s war-fighters once they return home. AMVETS will work to ensure that Congress upholds this duty as well.
“Late this afternoon, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi broke with the administration, calling for an additional freeze to defense funding—an action that AMVETS considers reckless and wholly irresponsible in a time of war. Politics aside, our men and women are in the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. They need our continued support while overseas and long after they return home. Abandoning our military and our veterans to balance the budget is not an option.
“In regards to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” AMVETS membership passed a resolution at the August 2009 AMVETS National Convention in New Orleans calling for continued support of the stop-gap measure until policies critical to the rights of gays and lesbians have been addressed on a national scale—something AMVETS hopes the President will consider moving forward.
“In the interest of protecting the rights of gays and lesbians who wish to serve our country, Congress and the Pentagon must first consider issues within the current military structure to ensure equitable treatment of all who wish to serve before AMVETS can consider supporting a repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“One critical issue is the recognition of legal relationships between homosexual partners in relation to military and veterans’ family member benefits and policies including, but not limited to, housing, dependency allowance, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, Survivor Benefits Plan, transferability of benefits, joint duty station assignments, fraternization policies, and family care plans.
“Today, our nation lacks a clear definition of how such partnerships, which are only legally recognized in certain states, can be acknowledged across the board for members of the military. By allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly without considering these issues sets those affected by a new policy up for failure.
“Though the policy may seem antiquated to many and the social climate may be leaning toward change, AMVETS must support House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton in continuing to use “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as a standard while the nation is at war, should the military and Congress fail to address the broader social questions first.
“To date, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has succeeded to an extent in affording gays and lesbians an opportunity to serve. A report issued this morning by a UCLA demographer estimates that upwards of 66,000 gay and lesbian men and women may currently serve.
“In the interim, AMVETS also supports Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ assertions that the Pentagon should explore options to enforce the policy in a more equitable fashion. With this in mind, AMVETS suggests that the military enforce its non-fraternization and harassment policies in full accordance with the Uniformed Code of Military Justice and improve enforcement of the oft-overlooked “Don’t Pursue” clause of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” prohibiting witch-hunts against suspected homosexual service members.
“AMVETS prides itself on being the nation’s most-inclusive of the major veterans’ service organizations, representing the best interests of a broad constituency of veterans, which is why AMVETS leaders will work closely with the Administration, military leaders, and Congress to ensure that these critical concerns are addressed before any sweeping policy decision is made.”
To read AMVETS’ resolution on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the AMVETS Legislative Agenda for 2010, Click Here.
Below is full video of last night's address:
(Media: Top Photo: President Obama delivers his State of the Union address. White House photo by Pete Souza. Bottom Video: Full White House video of the State of the Union address. White House images and video are in the public domain.)
Tonight, President Obama outlined his plan to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan with an ambitious plan to start withdrawing combat troops within 18 months. Below is the President's address in its entirety from www.WhiteHouse.gov:
AMVETS' interests have always been in preserving America's interests and holding those who attacked us on 9/11 accountable for their actions.
That being said, AMVETS leaders cannot speculate on whether or not the President's plan will succeed, we can only hope that his words are sincere, that our nation's top military advisors have prudently considered the options for success, and that, as a nation, we will consider the needs of these additional 30,000 troops now called to serve long after they have returned from duty.
The need for additional troops on the ground in Afghanistan only reinforces the need for timely VA and defense funding. Both the VA and Defense budgets are now more than two months late, and our leaders in Congress must act quickly to ensure that we meet the needs of those brave enough to fight our nation's wars.
As AMVETS Legislative Director Ray Kelley says all the time, "if you're going to fund the war, you have to fund the war-fighters."
Throughout our nation's history, we've proven time and again that our military men and women are capable of overcoming insurmountable odds against brutal enemies. However, American memories tend to be short. After nearly every conflict, our veterans seem to be neglected almost as soon as the last muzzle falls silent.
This cannot happen to today's veterans, which is why AMVETS will continue to fight for improved care for those on today's battlefield long after they have returned. We have made great strides over the last couple of years with the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, improved military mental health screening and treatment, and advance VA health care funding, but the work continues.
With tonight's announcement and the holiday season upon us, AMVETS thoughts and prayers remain with the hundreds of thousands of American troops serving in harm's way, those who will soon be called to serve, and their loved ones.
This week at American Veteran, we will follow AMVETS National Headquarters staff at the first VA/DoD mental health summit, taking place this afternoon at the Capitol Hilton in Washington. The summit, hosted by VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, will be the first of its kind bringing together experts from various government agencies, the health care sector, and veterans' advocates such as AMVETS to discuss treatment models for service members, veterans and their families.
This week, we will also publish the latest issue of American Veteran magazine. We apologize for any delays, but we know you will enjoy the fall issue. As always, we're constantly looking for stories from posts and departments around the country. Though we're restricted in how many we can publish in our quarterly print issues, American Veteran is eager to publish more local stories on American Veteran Online.
Next, AMVETS leaders have started planning for the 2010 21st Century Veterans Symposium, which will take place at the AMVETS National Convention in Louisville. This symposium will be the follow-up to AMVETS' 2006 symposium on the needs of young veterans, bringing in veterans from across the country to discuss issues, potential solutions and to update the 2006 symposium report. More details will become available over the next few months.
Finally, American Veteran Online will continue to follow the FY2010 budget process for VA, which remains stalled in Congress. The VA budget has now been delivered late 20 out of the last 23 years. With last week's historic signing of the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009, authorizing advance appropriations, the veterans' community has shifted focus to ensuring that this year's budget passes quickly. The FY2010 budget will be the first to include advance funding for the following year's VA health care.
Check back throughout the week with American Veteran Online for updates.
This week at American Veteran, we will continue to follow the progress of H.R. 1610, the bill authorizing advance appropriations for VA health care. Last week, the bill quickly passed the Senate and now waits for a signature from President Obama. Check back regularly for updates.
As the veterans' community waits for a signature on the landmark bill, Congress continues to hash out the VA's budget for FY2010, which was due before Oct. 1. This marks the 20th time in 23 years that Congress has failed to deliver the budget on time, further demonstrating the need for advance appropriations. AMVETS leaders will continue to push Congress to pass the budget quickly. Today, the VA is operating on continuing resolutions.
This week, American Veteran will also continue to follow implementation of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill and the delays student-veterans have been experiencing around the country. Last week, Keith Wilson, VBA director of education services, testified before Congress that the department may not be caught up on claims until some time in December, raising concerns for AMVETS that veterans may face additional hardships as a result, whether it is through enrollment issues or additional strains on personal finances.
Last week, AMVETS received word that despite the success of VA's emergency check program, tensions continue to mount among student-veterans who are starting to lose faith in the system. AMVETS will continue to reach out to the student-veterans' community to restore confidence in the new G.I. Bill, which offers unprecedented educational opportunities for student-veterans.
AMVETS leaders remain confident that the delays experienced this semester only represent initial implementation hiccups that will be sorted our in the short term.
Finally this week, American Veteran Online will also post additional Keeping Posted content from around the country, highlighting the work of AMVETS posts nationwide. If you have something you would like us to highlight on the blog, please let us know. And as always, check back regularly for updates.
This week at American Veteran, we will continue our online series highlighting historic women's service in the U.S. military. Our next installment will feature Army Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, the first woman to earn the Silver Star since WWII.
We will also continue to cover the VA budget process for FY2010, as the Obama Administration looks for new ways to provide adequate funding for our veterans.
The AMVETS Legislative Department continues to push for student-veterans' "centers of excellence" with our leaders in Congress. We will keep you up to date on progress throughout the week.
Check back regularly with American Veteran Online for more news and info from around the veterans' community.
The follow-up meeting with the White House has been moved up to early this afternoon.
AMVETS will present its plan to offset the Administration's request of $500 million from VA service-connected billing in an effort to stave off the proposed toxic policy change.
American Veteran Online will be following this story closely. Check back this afternoon for updates on the day's proceedings.
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.
Last week, the veterans' community received word of a proposal to bill veterans' private insurance companies for health care related to service-connected conditions. AMVETS vehemently opposes this idea. We understand that the costs of health care keep skyrocketing, but that does not preclude the VA from fulfilling its obligations to our veterans.
Service-connected conditions are quite different from the kinds of health care conditions many Americans cope with. Service-connected conditions are injuries and maladies that the VA has acknowledged have a direct link to our time in the military; a time when we each forfeit certain rights and priviledges to defend our fellow countrymen and our way of life. In return for agreeing to go wherever we are asked to go, and do whatever we are asked to do, our government has made a promise to take care of us, should something happen in the line of duty. Now the government wants to pass this burden onto our private insurance companies.
I understand if the VA wants to treat normal patient triage as any private hospital would by billing third-party insurers for routine visits, but it is the VA's obligation to ensure that service-connected conditions are treated at no cost to the veteran.
Proponents of third-party billing may believe that this will simply help the VA save some much-needed cash in a turbulent economic time, since many veterans already enjoy adequate third-party coverage. However, this could create dire unintended consequences when insurance companies start to drop veterans from their plans. Under the current scenario, private insurance companies can look the other way when a veteran needs monthly counseling for PTSD or repairs to a prosthesis. But once the bills start rolling in for Blue Cross or United, somebody is going to have to reassess the situation. Veterans will become a greater liability.
The new Administration has proposed a much-needed increase in funding for the VA in FY2010. Unfortunately, third-party billing for service-connected conditions may be a part of their equation. This would be a tremendous disservice to our veterans, and I hope that the White House and Congress will not seriously consider this move. AMVETS is waiting anxiously to see the President's full budget proposal in early April. In the meantime, let us know what you think about the third-party billing proposal by posting your comments below.
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Contributors
Andrew Keirn, National Publications Editor, Marine Corps veteran
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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.
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