{"id":76465,"date":"2024-03-04T16:32:38","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T16:32:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/03\/04\/budget-deal-includes-va-funding-hike-firearm-ownership-protections\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:19:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:19:57","slug":"budget-deal-includes-va-funding-hike-firearm-ownership-protections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/04\/budget-deal-includes-va-funding-hike-firearm-ownership-protections\/","title":{"rendered":"Budget deal includes VA funding hike, firearm ownership protections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veterans Affairs programs will see only a small boost in funding under the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2023\/06\/22\/spending-plan-for-vets-programs-gets-senate-support-but-fights-loom\/\" target=\"_blank\"> fiscal 2024 budget plan <\/a>unveiled by congressional negotiators Sunday night, but overall department spending would jump about 8% compared to last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The plan \u2014 which lawmakers aim to bring to the House and Senate floor later this week \u2014 would total more than $328 billion in appropriations for VA, another significant boost for a department which has seen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2024\/02\/23\/veterans-advocates-push-for-another-big-boost-in-va-funding-next-year\/\" target=\"_blank\">steady growth for more than two decades.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In fiscal 2001, the entire VA budget amounted to $48 billion in spending. Ten years ago, that total was $153.9 billion, still less than half of the planned budget for this fiscal year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federaltimes.com\/congress\/2024\/03\/01\/congress-passes-fourth-stopgap-funding-bill-as-1-sequester-looms\/\" target=\"_blank\">funding plan <\/a>\u201chonors the sacred obligation we have to take care of our veterans when they come home by fully funding veterans\u2019 medical care and benefits and delivering essential resources VA needs to operate.\u201d<\/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\/2024\/02\/23\/veterans-advocates-push-for-another-big-boost-in-va-funding-next-year\/\" 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=\"208\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18043481470258.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\">Veterans advocates push for another big boost in VA funding next year<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Congress has pproved steady annual funding increases for VA opertions for more than 20 years.<\/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\">The measure includes a provision that would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2023\/07\/18\/bill-to-protect-veterans-gun-rights-prompts-heated-debate-in-house\/\" target=\"_blank\">prohibit VA officials from submitting veterans\u2019 names to the FBI\u2019s National Instant Criminal Background Check System<\/a> without a judge\u2019s consent, a move that could block them from owning firearms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">House Democratic lawmakers have long opposed the provision, saying it unnecessarily limits federal workers\u2019 ability to report potential threats. But House Republicans have worried that without the language, veterans who need assistance managing finances but pose no threats can be reported anyway, depriving them of their Second Amendment rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo veteran should lose their constitutional right to bear arms simply because they need help managing their finances,\u201d House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, D-Ill., said in a statement. \u201cAnd if they are a danger to themselves or others, a judge should make that decision, not a VA bureaucrat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even with the controversial provision, the budget plan \u2014 part of a $467.5 billion spending package covering six separate federal departments \u2014 is expected to pass through both chambers of Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Much of the money set aside for VA has already been given to the department, through advance appropriations and a series of short-term spending bills passed over the past five months. The total VA budget also includes $20.3 billion for VA\u2019s Toxic Exposures Fund, used to help cover costs associated with benefits expansion under the 2022 PACT Act. That measure provided new disability compensation to troops exposed to burn pit smoke, chemical contamination and other toxic exposure events during their military service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The total is mostly in line with adjusted White House budget requests made over the last year. However, discretionary spending \u2014 non-mandated programs and initiatives \u2014 is nearly equal to last year\u2019s levels, limiting expansion of some administration goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawmakers included in the budget plan a 17% increase in VA mental health programs, to $16.2 billion; a 15% increase in department homelessness prevention programs, to $3.1 billion; and an 18% increase in women veterans\u2019 health programs, to $990 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The budget calls for $1.3 billion less in spending on the department\u2019s electronic health records overhaul, funds that are not needed because of the ongoing pause in the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fiscal 2024 budget plan also includes about $308 billion in advance appropriations for fiscal 2025, ensuring that VA operations will continue mostly uninterrupted if Congress cannot settle on a budget plan for next year by their mandated deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">White House officials are expected to unveil their budget proposal for next fiscal year on March 11.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The appropriations measure is expected to be approved by Congress later this week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":47265,"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":[101,7,23,12,26,62,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3222],"class_list":["post-76465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-education-transition","category-home","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"IAHMPDOA6JHH7K346UO4V4OPAA","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2024\/03\/04\/budget-deal-includes-va-funding-hike-firearm-ownership-protections\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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