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VA chief: Do not increase VA budget, pass it

The Department of Veterans Affairs does not need more money; it just needs a budget to quickly pass Congress, VA Secretary Jim Nicholson said in a letter to key lawmakers.

Nicholson, who will be leaving the VA post by Oct. 1, the start of the fiscal year, says in the letter, released Friday, that time is short to avoid disruption in veterans’ programs.

Passing a funding bill by the start of the fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, “is essential” to avoid the problems that would result from operating under a temporary budget, where spending is capped and new programs cannot be started.

“I know you agree that we owe it to veterans to complete work on time,” Nicholson said, noting that when Congress returns to work Sept. 4, there will be just 19 legislative days before the new fiscal year begins.

The House already has passed its version of the veterans’ spending bill and the Senate expects to begin debate on its version Sept. 4. Nicholson asked lawmakers to resist adding more money to the $39.4 billion requested by President Bush. The Bush request, a $2.9 billion increase over the 2007 budget, is part of “a fiscally responsible path to fund the nation’s highest veterans priorities,” Nicholson said.

“I am confident the top-line amount set for VA would enable the department to successfully accomplish our noble mission of serving our nation’s veterans with the quality and commitment Americans expect,” he said.

The letter is addressed to Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Tex., the chairmen of the House and Senate appropriations committees responsible for preparing the VA spending bill. Johnson will be returning to the Senate on Sept. 4 after a slow recovery from a brain hemorrhage in December that left him unable to work. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., has been filling in as acting chairman.

The House version of the VA spending bill includes $3.8 billion more than the Bush administration requested, which prompted a warning from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget that it would veto other appropriations bills unless cuts in other programs were found to offset the increase for veterans’ programs.