House, Senate approve FY 2017 VA funding

On April 13, the House Appropriations Committee passed H.R. 4974 to fund Department of Veterans Affairs programs for fiscal year 2017. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved companion measure S. 2806.

The House bill provides a total of $176.1 billion in funding for VA – $73.5 billion for discretionary programs. The Senate companion provides $177.4 billion – $74.9 billion for discretionary programs. Included in the funding accounts are:

VA medical services. $52.5 billion in the House bill; $65 billion in the Senate bill. Individual accounts that interest The American Legion include:
$7.8 billion in mental health-care services in both bills, including $370 million for post-traumatic stress disorder treatment and $164 million in suicide prevention activities.
$7.2 billion in homeless veterans treatment, services, housing and job training in the House bill.
$7.2 billion for the new Medical Community Care account to provide non-VA care in both bills.
$535 million for health care, specifically for women veterans.
$284 million for traumatic brain injury treatments in both bills.
$250 million in rural health initiatives in both bills.

Medical and prosthetic research. $663 million in the House bill; $675 million in the Senate bill.

VA Electronic Health Record. Both measures provide $260 million.

Advance appropriations for all veterans programs for FY 2018. Both measures will fund discretionary medical programs in 2018 at $66.4 billion. In addition, mandatory programs will be funded at $103.9 billion. This was done to eliminate the possibility that VA programs would go unfunded in case of a government shutdown.

National Cemetery Administration. Both measures provide $271.2 million for operations.
Information technology. Both measures provide $4.2 billion.

Disability claims processing. Both measures provide $2.8 billion to address the claims backlog, including the hiring of 242 staff to tackle claims and appeals work. This amount is an increase of $119 million above the 2016 enacted amount.

Board of Veterans Appeals. Both measures provide $156 million to address the appeals backlog.

Construction. Both measures provide $528 million in major construction. Funds will be used for correcting critical seismic deficiencies, new hospital and clinic construction, and repairing crumbling infrastructure in some of VA’s oldest structures. Minor construction is set at $372 million.