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Washington, DC – On Tuesday, Republican House appropriators revealed a proposal for a $320 billion Veterans Affairs budget for fiscal 2024, which includes amendments to the contentious Toxic Exposure Fund for more effortless spending adjustments in the future. However, Democrats have already criticized the move as another assault on veterans’ benefits.
The announcement comes after GOP leaders faced criticism from Democrats and veterans advocacy groups, such as Disabled American Veterans and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, for not including protections for veterans funding in separate legislation calling for significant federal spending cuts. This latest development is likely to reignite the political battle and place the veterans budget at the heart of partisan fiscal disputes on Capitol Hill for the foreseeable future.
The appropriations plan, which is expected to be voted on by the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, aligns with President Joe Biden’s budget request for veterans benefits and programming earlier this year. It represents an increase of nearly 6% compared to the current fiscal year funding levels.
Republicans claim the proposal “honors the country’s commitment to veterans” while simultaneously bringing more fiscal responsibility to the department. However, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., chairwoman of the appropriations committee’s panel on veterans issues, has described the plan as “disappointing, deceptive, and potentially devastating” for veterans, accusing it of playing into Republicans’ broader strategy to slash government funding.
The Toxic Exposures Fund, established as part of the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (or PACT Act) last summer, has become a central issue. The fund provides mandatory federal funding to cover benefits for veterans suffering from illnesses related to military toxins such as burn pit smoke and chemical exposure.
Republicans argue that the mandatory nature of the fund creates cost-projection problems for other veterans bills and unnecessarily increases VA spending. Their appropriations plan proposes shifting nearly three-fourths of the fund’s money, close to $15 billion, to discretionary funding, allowing for annual adjustments.
Retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, senior advisor to VoteVets, criticized the proposal, saying that the Republicans are jeopardizing the care and benefits guaranteed to veteran victims of burn pits and other toxic exposures under the PACT Act.
The appropriations plan is expected to gain support in the Republican-controlled House but not the Democratic-controlled Senate. A House plan passed last month to limit non-defense federal spending in the next fiscal year similarly lacks support in the upper chamber of Congress.
As the appropriations plan advances, it is expected to face resistance in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Meanwhile, the broader spending plan to limit non-defense federal spending in the next fiscal year, locking funding levels at those of fiscal 2022, has also been criticized by Democrats. They argue that the proposal could threaten veterans programming because the spending cuts were not specified.
By introducing a VA spending bill that aligns with President Biden’s request, Republicans have deflected some of the political criticism. However, the changes to the Toxic Exposure Fund have opened up a new series of critiques.
“House Republicans have repeatedly vowed that there will be no cuts to the care and benefits our veterans deserve, and [this] bill delivers on that promise,” said House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Kay Granger, R-Texas, in a joint statement.
The VA budget proposal is the first of a dozen appropriations bills that the House committee is expected to introduce in the coming weeks. The remaining bills have been delayed by ongoing negotiations between congressional leaders and the White House over raising the country’s debt ceiling, an issue that needs to be addressed in the next few weeks.
As the debate over the VA budget proposal continues, the partisan divide on the issue highlights the challenges of balancing the need for fiscal responsibility with providing adequate care and benefits for the nation’s veterans. With both sides claiming to have veterans’ best interests in mind, the political battle surrounding the budget is expected to intensify in the months to come.
Source: Military Times
