{"id":66729,"date":"2020-03-04T16:52:14","date_gmt":"2020-03-04T16:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/03\/04\/key-legislator-calls-plans-for-big-va-spending-boost-a-fantasy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:28:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:28:34","slug":"key-legislator-calls-plans-for-big-va-spending-boost-a-fantasy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2020\/03\/04\/key-legislator-calls-plans-for-big-va-spending-boost-a-fantasy\/","title":{"rendered":"Key legislator calls plans for big VA spending boost \u2018a fantasy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">House appropriators called the White House\u2019s request for another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/02\/10\/va-programs-would-see-a-13-percent-funding-boost-under-trumps-fiscal-2021-budget-plan\/\" target=\"_blank\">big increase in Veterans Affairs spending <\/a>next year all but impossible unless administration officials agree to lift budget caps on other non-defense programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last month, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2020\/03\/03\/trump-calls-taliban-discusses-peace-talks\/\" target=_blank>President Donald Trump<\/a> unveiled plans for more than $243 billion in spending on VA programs and benefits as part of his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2020\/02\/10\/four-friction-points-to-watch-in-the-fy21-defense-budget\/\" target=_blank>$4.8 trillion spending plan<\/a> for fiscal 2021. The VA budget boost, more than 10 percent from this year\u2019s spending levels, significantly dwarfs plans for other non-military programs, most of which would see steep budget cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Wednesday, the chair of the House Appropriations Committee panel which oversees the department\u2019s spending blasted the proposal as \u201ca fantasy budget\u201d which has no current path of becoming law.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/02\/10\/va-programs-would-see-a-13-percent-funding-boost-under-trumps-fiscal-2021-budget-plan\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20041504401609.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">VA programs would see a 13 percent funding boost under Trump\u2019s fiscal 2021 budget plan<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">If enacted, the proposal would make VA the second-largest federal agency in terms of discretionary spending.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVA\u2019s budget request is impossible without slashing funding for other departments which also benefit veterans,\u201d said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI understand in an election year that it\u2019s easy to ask for the moon, sun and stars, and under other circumstances we would be for it. But this is not a good-faith proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last year, lawmakers agreed upon a two-year budget deal which limited non-defense discretionary spending for fiscal 2021 to just under $627 billion. Wasserman Schultz noted that means about $2 billion more for those programs next year from this year\u2019s budget. VA\u2019s proposed discretionary spending boost alone is about $12 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wasserman Schultz criticized the White House proposal as an attempt to make the White House look more veteran friendly by creating unrealistic spending expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe would love to be able to do this \u2026 but this budget is just using our pawns in a political game,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VA Secretary Robert Wilkie defended the proposal as necessary to continue needed reforms and new missions within his department. He said the extra money will pay for additional mental health care and suicide prevention programs, continued implementation of new community care medical appointments, and new disability benefits for Blue Water Navy veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am fully supportive of the president\u2019s budget,\u201d he said. \u201cI was told (by the White House) that veterans are the priority, and this is the direction we should head.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Wilkie also deflected questions about cuts in other public health, employment transition and disability assistance programs, saying that work should be negotiated between the president and congressional leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The VA budget has come under increased scrutiny in recent years as it has risen dramatically. Even as spending has gone up each year \u2014 the FY21 budget request is nearly double the VA\u2019s budget total a decade ago \u2014 lawmakers have warned that the department cannot anticipate unchecked growth on an annual basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/02\/10\/troops-would-see-another-big-pay-raise-under-white-house-budget-plan-for-2021\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"156\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ARM-money.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Troops would see another big pay raise under White House budget plan for 2021<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The request calls for a 3.0 percent pay raise starting next January, following a 3.1 percent pay raise this year.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next year\u2019s budget request for VA would make it the second-largest government agency in terms of spending, behind only the Department of Defense (whose planned spending is almost six times the proposed VA level.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite reaching that two-year spending deal last summer, most lawmakers in Congress are skeptical that a budget plan for VA or any other federal department can be completed by October, the start of the new fiscal year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s largely due to the compressed legislative schedule and political ramifications connected to this fall\u2019s presidential election and congressional re-election contests.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>White House officials have asked for more than $240 billion next year for VA operations, programs and benefits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":38519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,12,25,67,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3226],"class_list":["post-66729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"MCBEEEHQQNCJBO7LH6MDZRRW5A","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/03\/04\/key-legislator-calls-plans-for-big-va-spending-boost-a-fantasy\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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