Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: FY2009 Appropriations
Abstract : The President submitted his FY2009 appropriations request to Congress on February 4, 2008, including $115.3 billion for programs covered in this appropriations bill: $24.4 billion for Title I (military construction and family housing), $90.8 billion for Title II (veterans affairs), and $183 million for Title III (related agencies). Compared with funding thus far appropriated for FY2008 (emergency supplemental appropriations are pending), this represents increases for Title I of $3.8 billion (18.3%), for Title II of $3.2 billion (3.6%), and for Title III of $16.7 million (10.1%). The overall increase in appropriations between that requested for FY2009 and enacted for FY2008 is $7.0 billion (6.4%). The House and Senate Committees on Appropriations reported their versions of the FY2009 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies appropriations bill on June 24 (H.R. 6559) and July 22 (S. 3301), 2008, respectively. The bill's legislative path is laid out in detail in the "Fiscal Year 2009 Appropriations" section of this report. The House committee recommended appropriating $118.7 billion in new budget authority, $3.4 billion above the President's request. This included $24.8 billion for Title I, $400 million above the request and $4.2 billion above the FY2008 enactment. The Senate committee recommended $119.8 billion, including $24.7 billion for Title I. The Continuing Appropriations Act appropriated $119.6 billion, including $25.0 billion for Title I. In the area of veterans nonmedical benefits, mandatory spending is increasing as claims for disability compensation, pension, and readjustment benefits increase due to a combination of several factors, including the aging of the veterans population and the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In terms of medical care afforded to veterans, the Administration has included several cost-sharing proposals, including an increase in pharmacy copayments and enrollment fees for lower priority veterans.
Veterans' Benefits: Issues in the 110th Congress
This report provides a general discussion of veterans' benefits issues that are part of the legislative agenda of the 110th Congress or are likely to be of legislative interest. Among those issues are disability compensation and pensions; education benefits; homelessness; life insurance; the status or eligibility of groups such as U.S. merchant seamen and World War II Filipino veterans for veterans' benefits; Reserve and National Guard eligibility for veterans' benefits; the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; and legal representation for veterans. For each issue, an overview is provided, along with summaries of pertinent pending legislation. In addition, an overview of the benefits and their eligibility requirements, demographics for both the veteran population and the benefit population, and summary data on the FY2008 budget for veterans' benefits are provided.
Military Disability System: Improved Oversight Needed to Ensure Consistent and Timely Outcomes for Reserve and Active Duty Service Members
Abstract : Policies and guidance for military disability determinations differ somewhat among the Army, Navy, and Air Force. DOD has explicitly given the services the responsibility to set up their own processes for certain aspects of the disability evaluation system and has given them latitude in how they go about this. As a result, each service implements its system somewhat differently. Further, the laws that govern military disability and the policies that DOD and the services have developed to implement these laws have led reservists to have different experiences in the disability system compared to active duty members. For example, because reservists are not on active duty at all times, it takes longer for them to accrue the 20 years of service that may be needed to earn monthly disability retirement benefits. While DOD has issued policies and guidance to promote consistent and timely disability decisions for active duty and reserve disability cases, DOD is not monitoring compliance. To encourage consistent decision making, DOD requires all services to use multiple reviewers to evaluate disability cases. Furthermore, federal law requires that reviewers use a standardized disability rating system to classify the severity of the medical impairment. In addition, DOD periodically convenes the Disability Advisory Council, comprised of DOD and service officials, to review and update disability policy and to discuss current issues. However, neither DOD nor the services systematically determine the consistency of disability decision making. DOD has issued timeliness goals for processing disability cases, but is not collecting information to determine compliance. Finally, the consistency and timeliness of decisions depend, in part, on the training that disability staff receive. However, DOD is not exercising oversight over training for staff in the disability system.