Budget increases for veterans expected from White House this week


By SB Anderson

This should be an up week for veterans and those who advocate for them as the White House is expected to include more money for veterans needs such as health care, employment and education when it releases its proposed FY 2014 budget this week.

The administration pushed out the high-level details on Friday (here’s the fact sheet). Some highlights:

  • $2.5 billion, a 13.6 percent increase, for the Veterans Benefits Administration, to focus on digitizing claims records and processing. The VA faces an enormous backlog of claims and veterans in some part of the country wait longer than a year for their claim to be processed. New York, Chicago, Reno NV, Los Angeles and Phoenix have the longest backlogs, according to data from the Center for Investigative Reporting, which updates its figures weekly. (See chart below for national averages).

  • A 4% increase for the Department of Veterans Affairs, providing $63.5 million in discretionary money.

  • A 7% increase, to $7 billion, for mental health services, including post-traumatic stress disorder and issues related to military sexual assault.Â

  • Permanently extending tax credits for employers who hire veterans.

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SOURCE: Center for Investigative Reporting.

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