For Immediate Release: April 26, 2005

FY 06 Budget Resolution: Keeping Our Promise to Veterans
Providing for the Best Care to America's Most Honored

The budget resolution sharply reduced, compared with the President, the amount of mandatory savings expected from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. It does not assume savings from co-pays, and the savings are less than the enrollment fees proposed by the President.

As reported by the Budget Committee, the budget resolution calls for the Veterans' Committee to produce $798 million in mandatory savings over 5 years. These savings can come from any mix of mandatory spending programs in the Committee's jurisdiction, which total $187.2 billion over the next 5 years.

Chairman Buyer supports VAC's participation in this year's deficit reduction efforts, but has rejected the co-pays.
The savings target for the VAC is $1.7 billion less than the President's proposed savings of $2.5 billion over 5 years (as rescored by CBO).
At the request of several VAC members, the budget does not assume savings from increasing the co-pay for priority 7 and priority 8 veterans. Any decision to adopt an enrollment fee would be left to the VAC.
In a related matter, the budget resolution also increased veterans' medical care-an annually appropriated accounts-by $297 million over the President's amount for fiscal year 2006.
Funding for veterans' medical care has increased from $16.2 billion in 1995 to $29.9 billion today.
The Republican Congress has demonstrated its commitment to veterans' programs over the years. Since 1995, total spending on veterans programs has increased from $38 billion to $67.6 billion-a 77% increase.
Military retirees injured in combat, while training for combat, or who are 50% or more service0disabled are able, for the first time in over a century, to receive retirement benefits concurrently with veterans disability compensation.

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