AMVETS APPLAUDS SENATE FOR PASSING EXPANDED VA BUDGET
Senate approves Independent Budget recommendations

WASHINGTON, March 17, 2008—The Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs passed an increased VA budget for fiscal year 2009 early Friday morning. AMVETS applauds Chairman Daniel K. Akaka and the committee for their efforts to properly fund the VA.

The committee expanded the proposed budget by nearly $3.2 billion, reflecting the proposal set forth by AMVETS and a coalition of veterans’ service organizations in the 2009 Independent Budget (IB).

Since the Bush Administration sent its proposed 2009 VA budget to Congress, AMVETS has called on the Senate to pass a budget based on the IB, reflecting precedents set during the Global War on Terror. According to the IB, the Administration’s budget fell more than $3 billion short of the projected needs for the VA in the coming year.

The IB is compiled each year by leading veterans’ service organizations AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. In its 22-year history, the IB has established itself as a sensible tool to evaluate the needs of the VA based on a thorough, independent analysis of factors such as military operational tempo, cost of living, cost of medical care, population shifts, and infrastructure needs.

AMVETS will continue to push for the IB’s recommendations as the VA budget moves through Congress.  

Media Contact:
National
Communications Director
Jay Agg
(301) 683-4035
jagg@amvets.org

National
Publications Editor
Isaac Pacheco
(301)-683-4038
ipacheco@amvets.org

National
Media Specialist
Ryan Gallucci
(301)683-4073
rgallucci@amvets.org