Departments of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the US

VFW Washington Weekly, March 14, 2008

Posted at 09:18 AM on Sunday, March 16, 2008 by VFW News

In This Issue:
1. VA Budget Update
2. VFW Testifies before Appropriations Subcommittee
3. House VA Committee Hearings
4. Senate Hearing on Caring for Families of Wounded Warriors
5. CENTCOM Commander Resigns
6. FY09 Defense Budget Resolution

1. VA Budget Update: The House and Senate have both approved their respective versions of the FY09 federal budget. The two versions are similar. Notably, they bump up VA funding by $3.2 billion over the President's request, which is in line with the veterans healthcare recommendations we laid out in the Independent Budget. Both versions reject the proposed copayment and fee increases, which the VFW strongly opposes. This is just the first step of the VA funding process. The budget forms the framework for the appropriations process. It gives broad outlines of spending for the department, which the respective Appropriations Committees will use to fund specific accounts and tasks within VA. The process is not complete until the President signs the Appropriations bill.

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