Funding for VA programs increases by $7.1 billion

By Paul E. Dillard, National Legislative chairman

On March 22, Congress passed H.R. 1625, the legislative vehicle for fiscal year (FY) 2018 government spending. President Trump signed the bill March 23. The overall bill contains $1.3 trillion to fund the operations of the federal government until Sept. 30, 2018 – fiscal year 2019 begins Oct. 1.

The following are highlights of the bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

VA programs will receive $81.5 billion in discretionary funding for the balance of FY18, an increase of $7.1 billion above the FY17 level. Highlights include:

  • VA medical care – $68.8 billion will support medical treatment and health care for approximately 9.2 million enrolled patients in FY18. This includes $5.5 billion to care for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans; $8.4 billion in mental health care services; $7.3 billion in homeless veterans treatment, services, housing and job training; $840 million for the essential Caregiver program; $751 million for Hepatitis C treatment; $722 million for medical and prosthetic research; $525 million for women veterans health care; $316 million for treatment of traumatic brain injury; $270 million for rural health initiatives; and $196 million for suicide prevention outreach activities.
  • Disability claims processing – $115 million for digital scanning of health records; $38 million for the paperless claims processing system; and $27 million for centralized mail.
  • Construction – $855 million for major and minor construction associated with VA hospital replacement, corrections of seismic deficiencies, projects to improve access to VA health care, and VA’s national cemeteries.
  • Electronic Health Records (EHR) – $782 million is set aside for VA’s new EHR contract. The bill creates a new account to fund this initiative and monitor the spending associated with the new Cerner contract.
  • Opioid treatment – $386 million, a $12.5 million increase, to fund opioid treatment and prevention throughout the VA.

Funding for related agencies of interest to The American Legion include:

  • American Battle Monuments Commission – $79 million.
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims – $334 million.
  • Arlington National Cemetery – $248 million.
  • Armed Forces Retirement Home – $64.3 million.
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