Mandatory VA Healthcare Funding: Currently, VA healthcare is funded through a process that requires Congressional debate every year. This means that the VA healthcare budget is a political football tossed back and forth year after year. Over the last five years, a movement has grown to make VA healthcare funding what is called an “entitlement.” In Congressional jargon, an entitlement is something that is automatically funded unless Congress takes action, the exact opposite of what happens now. Instead of being an annual political football, VA healthcare would be funded by a formula.
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The Obama Administration Budget proposed for 2013 for the VA is $140.3 billion. $76.3 billion is for mandatory benefits such as disability compensation and pensions. The remaining $64 billion is for discretionary spending, primarily for medical care.*
The discretionary spending amount represents a 4.5% increase from the current year. This is more than $4 billion less than the major veterans organizations call for in The Independent Budget. Read more [...]