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DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS
807 Maine Ave., SW · Washington, D.C. 20024 · Phone (202) 554-3501 · Fax (202) 863-0233
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 25, 2007
Veterans Groups Call for Health Care Budget Reform
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WASHINGTON, July 25—The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and a coalition of eight other national
veterans organizations have called on Congress to approve legislation that would replace the current
discretionary funding mechanism that puts patients at risk and makes it impossible for the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) to operate effectively.
With the anticipated release later today of recommendations from the President’s Commission on Care
for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors, this issue has taken on even greater significance. An
adequate, reliable and timely funding stream for the VA is vital to ensure high-quality services for those
men and women returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as for veterans from previous
eras.
In testimony before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee today, the Partnership for Veterans Health
Care Budget Reform said Congress has “an opportunity to create an enduring legacy of commitment to
the long-term viability of the health care system dedicated to meeting the unique needs of our nation’s
veterans.”
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are producing a new generation of wounded, sick and disabled
veterans, and some severe types of poly-trauma injuries never seen before in warfare. Those young
Americans wounded in Central Asia today with brain injury, limb loss or blindness will need the VA health
care system for the remainder of their lives. “The goal of the Partnership is to see a long-term solution
formed for funding VA health care to guarantee these veterans will have a dependable system for the
foreseeable future, not simply next year,” said DAV National Legislative Director Joseph A. Violante, who
testified on behalf of the Partnership. “Reformation of the whole funding system is essential so federal
funds can be secured on a timely basis, allowing VA to manage the delivery of care and to plan
effectively to meet known and predictable needs. In our judgment a change is warranted and long
overdue.”
For more than a decade the Partnership has urged Congress to reform the basic discretionary
appropriations system of funding VA health care. “The VA health care system must be protected for
millions of veterans who depend on it now as their only health care resource and will do so for many
decades,” Violante told the Committee.
“While we have waited a long time for today’s hearing, the Partnership acknowledges and applauds the
support of this Committee and your Appropriations Committee colleagues who have increased VA
discretionary health care funding over the past several budget cycles, and in particular this year’s
prospective increase of $6 billion in additional health care funding,” Violante said. “Nevertheless, I hope
to make clear to the Committee why funding problems persist and how Congress can solve this issue by
enacting a reform that results in sufficiency, predictability and timeliness of VA health care funding.”
The Partnership for Veterans Health Care Budget Reform includes The American Legion, AMVETS,
Blinded Veterans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans of the USA, Military
Order of the Purple Heart of the U.S.A, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the
United States and Vietnam Veterans of America.
The 1.3 million-member Disabled American Veterans, a non-profit organization founded in 1920 and
chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1932, represents this nation’s disabled veterans. It is dedicated to a
single purpose: building better lives for our nation’s disabled veterans and their families. For more
information, visit the organization’s Web site www.dav.org.
© Disabled American Veterans. All Rights Reserved
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