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SPENDING ON VETERANS EXCEEDS 1947 HIGH -- "While
we are spending more than in previous years, we
are
still not meeting many of the health care and
benefits needs of our veterans."
1947 Nash that was raffled-off by the DAV.
Story here...
http://www.usatoday.c
om/news/washington/2008-07-22-vabudget_N.htm
Story below:
-------------------------
Spending on vets exceeds 1947 high
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The federal government is
spending more money on veterans than at any time in modern history,
surpassing the tidal wave of spending following World War II and the
demilitarizing of millions of troops.
Expenditures hit $82 billion in 2007, because of the rising cost of health
care, the expense of caring for an aging population of mostly Vietnam War
veterans and a new crop of severely wounded troops from the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan.
 That
exceeds the $80 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars spent in 1947 after
most of the 16.1 million Americans serving in World War II left the
service, according to a Congressional Research Service report submitted to
Congress last month.
An 11% hike in spending to $91 billion is slated for this fiscal year, and
the Department of Veterans Affairs has proposed $94 billion for 2009. And
still more is needed, says U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who is seeking
another $3.3 billion for the 2009 budget proposal.
"While we are spending more than in previous years, we are still not
meeting many of the health care and benefits needs of our veterans,"
Murray says.
Last month's passage of a new G.I. Bill will add $100 billion in education
benefits for veterans over the next 10 years, the Congressional Budget
Office says.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his Democratic opponent
Barack Obama clashed over the bill last month. McCain opposed it, saying
its increased education benefits might encourage troops to leave the
military. Obama backed the bill, saying it would boost the number of
people interested in serving.
Also, medical costs could climb because of unanticipated long-term
problems from wounds such as traumatic brain injuries, which remain little
understood, says Adrian Atizado, assistant legislative director with the
Disabled American Veterans.
Annual costs for a severe head injury can reach $400,000, according to a
RAND Corp. study released this year.
About 1.6 million Americans have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. About
325,000 of those veterans use VA health care, records show. There are 5.5
million veterans of all ages now receiving VA health care and 2.9 million
receiving compensation. Those populations overlap and the VA does not have
a current figure on total number of veterans served.
Costs soared in 1947 because of a massive exodus of troops from the
military, all entitled to education, training and loan guarantee benefits
under the then-new G.I. Bill, the report says. Actual dollars spent in
1947 were $8.4 billion, the report says. Then, health care was only 12% of
the veterans budget, says Dan Tucker, deputy assistant secretary for
budget at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Now health care costs make
up 44% of the budget.
Costs fell precipitously after 1947, surging slightly in 1975-76 because
of Vietnam-era veterans, the report says. Roughly a third of the nation's
23.5 million veterans served in Vietnam.
-------------------------
posted by Larry
Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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