Hidden in Bush budget: drastic cuts in VA health care for Iraq vets

According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities: 

Data from back-up information providedby the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to the CongressionalBudget Committees (but not made readily available to the public) showthat key domestic priority areas — including areas such as education,environmental protection, veterans health care, and medical research —would be slated for large funding cuts over the 2008 to 2012 period. 

While the budget documents the Office ofManagement and Budget (OMB) released on February 5 spell out thePresident’s proposed funding levels for each discretionary program forfiscal year 2008, they do not specify the funding levels that the President is proposing in discretionary programs for years after 2008.[ii]  Breaking with normal budgeting procedures, the Administration has chosen for each of the past three years not toshow in its standard budget materials the funding levels that it isproposing for each discretionary program or “budget account” for yearsafter the coming fiscal year (in this case, for years after fiscal year2008). 

Nevertheless, some important informationon the Administration’s planned cuts in discretionary programs in theyears 2009-2012 is available.  Data are available on the overall fundinglevels that the President is proposing for each of the next five yearsfor the discretionary programs in each of 15 broad budget categories inthe budget, known as “budget functions.”  Data on the overalldiscretionary funding levels the Administration is proposing also areavailable for each of the 74 smaller budget categories known as budget“subfunctions.”  These data come from OMB “back-up” documents providedto the Congressional Budget Committees (but not made readily availableto the public). ..

Hospital and Medical Care for Veterans: The President proposes to increasefunding for these programs by nearly $1.4 billion (or 4 percent) in2008.  But the increase would only be temporary.  The Presidentproposes to cut the programs in this subfunction in eachsubsequent year, from 2009 through 2012; in each of those years, theprograms would be funded at levels below the amount provided for 2007,adjusted for inflation.  In 2012, the cut would be $2.7 billion, or 7percent.[iii]

Read the full report at http://www.cbpp.org/2-8-07bud.htm

Ed:  An interesting way to honor our nation’s military servicemen and women...