VA Budget Request for 2012

VA Announces Budget Request for 2012

Shinseki Pledges to Continue to be "Good Steward" of Resources

WASHINGTON (Feb. 14, 2011) - In announcing the proposed budget for the

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) during the next fiscal year,

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki emphasized "making every

dollar" count in the $132 billion budget proposal for VA.

"We will continue to wisely use the funds that Congress appropriates for

us to further improve the quality of life for Veterans and their

families through the efficiency of our operations," said Secretary of

Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki

"In the current constrained fiscal environment, every dollar counts,"

Shinseki added. "We have put into place management systems and

initiatives to maximize efficiency and effectiveness, and to eliminate

waste."

The budget request for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 must be

approved by Congress before taking effect.

Health Care

The budget request seeks nearly $51 billion for medical care.  It would

provide care to more than 6.2 million patients, including nearly 540,000

Veterans of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.  

The budget request also includes almost $1 billion for a contingency

fund and $1.2 billion of operational improvements to manage the

appropriated funds in a fiscally responsible manner.

Major health care provisions include:

*            $6.2 billion for mental health programs, including $68

million directly for suicide prevention;

*            $344 million to activate newly constructed medical

facilities;

*            $208 million to implement new benefits for Veterans'

caregivers;

*            Nearly $509 million for research; and

Shinseki noted the department has created "a portfolio of initiatives"

to improve the quality of VA care while making it easier for patients to

access services.  Primary care providers will put more emphasis upon

disease prevention and healthy living.  New technology - securing

e-mails, social networking and telehealth - will be harnessed to meet

the evolving needs of patients.

For example, in 2010, a daily average of more than 31,000 patients took

advantage of VA's telehome health care.  The budget proposal will allow

more than 50,000 people daily to use this innovative, at-home care.

Among the department's operational improvements is a provision that

calls for VA to implement Medicare's standard payment rates, a measure

that will free $315 million for other health care needs.

Benefits

The proposed budget for the new fiscal year includes more than $70

billion in "mandatory" benefits programs, a category consisting mostly

of VA disability compensation and pension payments.

Shinseki reaffirmed his commitment to "break the back of the backlog" of

claims from Veterans for disability compensation and pensions.  VA's

goal is to provide Veterans with decisions on their claims within 125

days at a 98 percent accuracy rate by 2015.

Various initiatives support continued redesign of VA's business

processes and development of a paperless claims system to improve the

efficiency of VA's handling of applications for compensation and

pensions.  Among the major projects is one to provide Veterans with

streamlined forms to present to non-VA physicians who are evaluating

Veterans for disability benefits, while another new program allows

online application for claims related to exposure to Agent Orange.

Homelessness Prevention

The funding request includes nearly $940 million for specific programs

to prevent and reduce homelessness among Veterans and their families.

This funding is a 17 percent increase over the current budget of nearly

$800 million.

"Homelessness is both a housing and a health care issue," Shinseki said.

"Our 2012 budget plan supports a comprehensive approach to eliminating

Veterans' homelessness by making key investments in homeless and mental

health programs."

Education and Training

The requested budget for "mandatory" benefits programs includes nearly

$11.5 billion for VA education, training, vocational rehabilitation and

employment programs, including educational benefit programs VA

administers for the Department of Defense.  Approximately 925,000 people

will receive benefits under these programs.  Nearly three-quarters of

the funds will go to recipients of the new Post-9/11 GI Bill.  

The budget proposal continues development of an automated Post-9/11 GI

Bill claims processing system that will speed tuition and housing

payments to eligible Veterans.

Information Technology

VA will seek nearly $3.2 billion for the new fiscal year to operate and

maintain its information technology (IT).

"IT is the key to bringing VA into the 21st century," Shinseki said. "It

allows for the efficient delivery of health care and benefits."

A recent independent study found that VA invested $4 billion in medical

IT from 1997 to 2007, which generated $7 billion in savings, mostly from

the elimination of duplicate medical tests and the reduction of medical

errors.

VA has a major role in the development of the "virtual lifetime

electronic record" as part of an inter-agency federal initiative to

provide complete and portable electronic health records for service

members, Veterans, other family members and, eventually, all Americans.

Through a disciplined approach to IT projects, VA transformed its

software development processes, meeting product delivery schedules over

80 percent of the time.

VA is consolidating its IT requirements into 15 major contracts, which

will lower costs and increase oversight and accountability.  Seven of

the 15 contracts are set-aside for Veteran-owned businesses, and four of

those seven are reserved for small businesses owned by service-disabled

Veterans.

Construction

Nearly $590 million in major construction is included within next year's

budget request.  

"This reflects the department's continued commitment to provide quality

health care and benefits through improving its facilities to be modern,

safe and secure for Veterans," Shinseki said.

The funding proposal provides for the continuation of seven ongoing

construction projects at health care facilities - New Orleans; Denver;

San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Louis; Palo Alto, Calif.; Bay Pines, Fla.,

and Seattle - plus new projects in Reno, Nev.; Los Angeles and San

Francisco.

Also in the budget request is $550 million for minor construction for

such purposes as seismic corrections, improvements for patient safety,

and enhancements for access and patient privacy.

Additionally, the spending proposal includes funds for a gravesite

expansion project at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in

Hawaii.

National Cemeteries

VA is seeking more than $250 million next year for the operation and

maintenance of its 131 national cemeteries.

The department expects to inter about 115,000 people next year at its

national cemeteries.  Nearly 90 percent of the U.S. population is within

75 miles of a VA-run national cemetery or a state-run Veterans cemetery.

For the fourth consecutive time in 10 years, VA's system of national

cemeteries has bested the nation's top corporations and other federal

agencies in a prestigious, independent survey of customer satisfaction.

The fiscal year 2012 budget plan includes $46 million to fund creation

and improvement of state Veterans cemeteries and tribal government

Veterans cemeteries.

Further information about VA's budget proposal for fiscal year 2012 is

available on the Internet at www.va.gov/budget/products.asp.

---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996