Veterans medical benefits may improve

From The AP August 1:

WASHINGTON — The House took up its first spending bill July 31 after weeks of delays that have left efforts to pass next year's Cabinet budgets in shambles. The bill is slated to pass on Aug. 1 as the House leaves Washington for a five-week recess.

The measure — one of just a handful that may become law before Congress adjourns for elections — awards generous increases for veterans medical care and military base construction and base closures. It is easily the most bipartisan of the 12 annual appropriations bills since it funds politically sacred veterans accounts, despite exceeding President Bush's already generous budget increase for veterans and military construction by $3.4 billion.

The measure calls for increasing spending on Veterans Administration health programs by $3.1 billion over current levels, some 9 percent. A $1.8 billion increase for military base construction is 20 percent above current levels. There's also a $2 billion increase in base closure accounts for items such as improving conditions at bases slated for troop increases and assisting states and localities in preparing closed bases for economic development projects and other uses.

Despite the increases, the White House has not threatened a veto, even though Bush has taken pride in clamping down on domestic spending accounts funded by Congress each year and generally has promised to veto bills that exceed his request.

The budget increases for veterans in the bill come on top of major increases in recent years. Congress increasingly has followed the ambitious budget recommendations of a group of veterans service organizations such as Disabled American Veterans as it sets the VA budget.

Medical inflation and higher enrollments in VA medical care are responsible for much of the budget increases. The measure contains money aimed at shortening waits to enroll in the VA system.

Other increases reflect additional costs due to the nature of ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which have meant devastating brain injuries, cases of post-traumatic stress disorder and higher costs for prosthetics.

The bill also increases from 28.5 cents per mile to 41.5 cents per mile the reimbursement rate for drives to and from VA medical facilities.