Obama's VA Budget Proposes More Money, Increased Access. The AP (2/27, Hefling) reports, "President Barack Obama wants to expand" healthcare "access to veterans earning modest incomes." The President's "proposed budget for Veterans Affairs," which calls for the agency's discretionary spending to be increased "by 10 percent to $53 billion, would provide healthcare "to non-disabled veterans whose income exceeds about $30,000 annually." Obama's budget would also "provide extra funding for programs targeting homeless veterans and those in rural areas. And it would pay for upgrades to the VA's technology system to help eliminate the average six-month wait to have a disability claim processed." UPI (2/27) publishes a similar story.
VA Said To Be In Line For "Healthy" Funding Increase. Government Executive (2/27, Peters) says VA would receive a "healthy" funding increase "in the Obama administration's 2010 budget proposal, according to information released by the White House Office of Management and Budget on Thursday." The "budget request 'is very much a good news story' for veterans, said" a senior OMB official, "who briefed reporters on background on Thursday." The VA "would receive $113 billion in 2010, an 11 percent increase from 2009. The funding boost would improve health care programs and expand coverage to more than 500,000 veterans by 2013, according to the official," who added that the budget fully funds information technology "and other areas necessary to implement the department's plans."
Impact: VA Budget Proposals

Murray Concerned About "Priority 8" Veteran Access Timeline. In an article headlined "Obama 2010 Budget Highlights By Agency," the AP (2/27) notes the Administration said that under its plan, 500,000 "Priority 8" vets would be eligible for VA healthcare by 2013. But Senate Veterans Affairs Committee member Patty Murray (D-WA), "expressed concern" about that date, saying, "I believe that we need to move quicker to get our 'Priority 8' veterans within the system, so that's one area I'll be looking at."
WBZ-TVjavascript:videoPopup('http://www.criticalmention.com/components/url_gen/play_asx.php?clip_info=830120234|50|70%5e830121091|0|70%5e830121570|0|70%5e830122517|0|17',350,320) Boston, MA (2/26, 5:07 p.m. ET), which similarly aired a report summarizing many aspects of the President's budget proposal, said Obama "wants to increase" the VA "budget by 10% so that more men and women in the military could get care at VA hospitals." The WKOW-TV Madison, WI (2/26) website ran a similar report.
"Key Appropriators" Signal Support For Allowing More "Priority 8"Access. CQ (2/27, Johnson) reports, "Key appropriators say they support a provision in President Obama's budget proposal that would expand veterans benefits to 'Priority 8' vets." Richard M. Burr, of North Carolina and Steve Buyer of Indiana, the ranking Republicans on the Senate and House Veterans Affairs "committees, say they will support" Obama's "proposal as long as current services aren't hindered. 'If the secretary can assure me and the veterans community that care and benefits will not be compromised, I will support him,' Burr said." According to CQ, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies, offered similar support, while Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD), the subcommittee's chairman, and Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX), chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies, both offered unqualified support for Obama's plan.
Impact: Priority 8 Veterans

Walter Reed Treating More Brain Traumas, Psychological Disorders. Stars And Stripes (2/27, Shane) reports, "Doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center are treating fewer torso and limb injuries in troops returning from combat but more brain trauma and psychological disorders," Ward Casscells, "the top Pentagon health official," said Wednesday. Casscells, "assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said that's largely due to the drop in violence in Iraq, and could reverse as fighting intensifies in Afghanistan in coming months. But he also credited better recognition of brain injuries by doctors and a lessening of the stigma associated with some psychological diagnoses." Stars And Stripes notes that on Tuesday, Casscells "and other military health experts toured" Walter Reed "to see changes made in the two years since a Washington Post investigative report found poor living conditions and frustrating regulations for some patients." Casscells "said he's pleased with the improvements." In related news, the website for The Oprah Winfrey Show (2/26) provided links to stories on the talk show host's recent visit to Walter Reed.
Pentagon Official Proud Of Military's Response To Walter Reed Crisis. In a related story, the Army Times (2/27, Kennedy) notes, "Michael Dominguez, who is stepping down after 2½ years as principal deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness" at the Pentagon, "said he was caught short when the Walter Reed scandal broke just months after he took office," but he "added that he's proud of how the military has reacted to the crisis since." Dominguez "said once the magnitude of the problem was laid bare, the Defense Department immediately began to work with the Veterans Affairs Department, the administration and Congress to try to fix things." Still, Dominguez "acknowledged that the cultural change necessary to help troops deal with" post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and "traumatic brain injury will be a long time coming to a military that he said too often still thinks: Service first, service members second."
Oregon Clinic Attempting To Compensate For Shortage Of Mental Health Services Staff. The Bend (OR) Bulletin (2/26, Cliff) reported, "Among soldiers who have been in combat, PTSD is shockingly common," but "there may not be enough people to treat" them, especially at the VA's Bend Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Oregon, which "many say...is unable to serve veterans as well as it should because it lacks the capacity." Clinic psychiatrist Dr. Clarence (Bud) Carnahan acknowledged the problem, saying some veterans "are put on waiting lists because in our clinic we just don't have the personnel." The clinic, however, "has taken several steps to help with the patient load," including instituting a Vet Center that "uses staff from Eugene or Salem."
Advocates Say Increase In PTSD Cases Is Contributing To "Staggering" Military Suicide Rate. The Chattanooga (TN) Times Free Press (2/26, Gregory) reported, "An increasing number of veterans are surviving combat but not the after-effects - namely" PTSD. The "accompanying addictions or mood disorders" associated with PTSD "create a fatal recipe that veteran advocates say is contributing to a staggering suicide rate among military personnel." Currently, however, the US Army "is in the middle of a 'stand-down,' which requires that individual units devote a day between Feb. 15 and March 15 to suicide prevention training. The stand-down will be followed by 120 days of 'chain teaching' across the entire Army." The VA, meanwhile, "is publicizing a service-wide suicide prevention hotline."
Impact: Mental Health, PTSD/TBI

Officials Say VA Will Begin Processing New Educational Benefits In March. NextGov (2/27, Brewin) reports, "Officials with the Veterans Affairs Department told a House panel on Thursday that they have developed a computer application and hired more staff to process claims under the new GI Bill but will not have a working computer system to manage the entire workload automatically until December 2010." The "new bill calculates tuition benefits based on the veteran's length of service and the highest tuition charged by a public college in the veteran's home state. Separate housing allocations," meanwhile, "are based on cost-of-living allowances" in "300 ZIP codes. To determine eligibility for tuition and housing benefits, the Veterans Benefits Administration developed a new front end to an existing processing system that will turn around claims within 24 days, Keith Wilson, director of the Office of Education Service at VBA, told a hearing held by the House Economic Opportunity Subcommittee. Wilson said the application will go live in March and claims processors will have completed training by then." But Stephen Warren, acting assistant secretary for information and technology at the VA, "told the subcommittee" being developed with the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command "will not be completed until December."
Rieckhoff: IAVA's Position On New GI Bill Was "Grossly Misstated." Education assistance for vets was also noted in an op-ed by Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), who stated in "The Passdown," Military.com's (2/26) op-ed page, that a "recent article...in the" Virginian-Pilot "grossly misstated the position of IAVA regarding the new GI Bill benefit by implying we are seeking a reduction in the value of that benefit. There is already a cap on the benefits available under the new GI Bill" and this cap "varies wildly and unfairly by state. IAVA supports a fairer, national ceiling which would increase the benefit for many veterans who wish to attend private colleges or universities, and would have no effect on anyone attending a public school. Ideally, there would be no cap," but if there is one, "it should be fair and generous." However, regulations recently issued by the VA "have made the benefits system both confusing and unfair."
Impact: 9/11 GI Bill