{"id":37116,"date":"2018-02-12T18:19:42","date_gmt":"2018-02-12T18:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/12\/va-spending-up-again-in-trumps-fiscal-2019-budget-plan\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:06:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:06:51","slug":"va-spending-up-again-in-trumps-fiscal-2019-budget-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/02\/12\/va-spending-up-again-in-trumps-fiscal-2019-budget-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"VA spending up again in Trump’s fiscal 2019 budget plan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 President Donald Trump\u2019s fiscal 2019 budget proposal<\/a> includes another increase for the Department of Veterans Affairs but also the return of a controversial proposal to round-down cost-of-living increases for veterans benefits<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The $198.6 billion budget plan for next year comes as lawmakers are still working to finalize VA spending for the current fiscal yea<\/a>r. That is expected to land in the $186 billion range, putting the proposed increase in VA funds at around 6 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s more than 8 percent higher than the administration\u2019s target for discretionary spending in fiscal 2018, a substantial increase in support and outreach spending. The discretionary budget plan is nearly $89 billion, money department officials said will be used \u201cto implement reforms that will modernize VA and rebuild the full trust of veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If approved, the increase would mark yet another significant funding boost for the department amid an era of fiscal restraint in federal spending. When the war in Afghanistan began in fiscal 2001, the VA budget totaled less than $49 billion. In fiscal 2009, it was $93.7 billion, less than half the new Trump proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\t