LegiStorm

Summary:

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides benefits to veterans who meet certain eligibility criteria. Benefits range from disability compensation and pensions to hospital and medical care. The VA provides these benefits through three major operating units: the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and the National Cemetery Administration (NCA). The President submitted his FY2016 budget request to Congress on February 2, 2015. The President requested $164.6 billion for VA. This amount includes $70.1 billion for VA discretionary programs and $94.5 billion for mandatory benefits and services. The House Appropriations Committee approved the FY2016 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill (MILCON-VA appropriations bill) on April 22, 2015. The House passed the measure (H.R. 2029, H.Rept. 114-92) on April 30. The House-passed measure provides $163.2 billion for the VA for FY2016, approximately $1.4 billion less than the President's request of $164.6 billion. On May 21, 2015, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the MILCON-VA appropriations bill (H.R. 2029; S.Rept. 114-57). The committee-approved measure provides approximately $163.8 billion for the VA for FY2016. The House-passed measure and Senate Appropriations Committee approved version provides approximately $63.3 billion in advance appropriations for the three medical care accounts (medical services, medical support and compliance, and medical facilities) and $104 billion for mandatory benefits programs (compensation and pensions, readjustment benefits, and veterans insurance and indemnities) for FY2017, the same amount as the President's request. On June 23, 2015, VA transmitted a proposal to Congress seeking the transfer of funds from the Veterans Choice Fund (established by Section 802 of P.L. 113-146, as amended) to the discretionary medical care accounts for FY2015. On July 31, the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-41) was enacted into law. Among other things, P.L. 114-41 made modifications to the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-46 as amended) and authorized not more than $3.3 billion from the Veterans Choice Fund to be transferred to other discretionary medical care accounts for Care in the Community and to replenish those accounts for expenses incurred on or after May 1, 2015. This authority expired on October 1, 2015. On November 10, 2015, the Senate passed the MILCON-VA appropriation bill, 2016, as amended by S.Amdt. 2763, as amended, in the nature of a substitute, to H.R. 2029. On December 18, 2015, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (H.R. 2029; P.L. 114-113). Division J of the act contained the FY2016 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations act. The enacted measure provides $162.7 billion for the VA for FY2016. Of this amount $91.4 billion is for veterans' benefits including disability compensation and pensions, $61.8 billion for veterans' health and research programs, and $9.2 billion for information technology, construction programs, and general operations and administrative expenses. Although the final enacted amount is about $2 billion less than the President's requested amount of $164.6 billion for VA for FY2016, a majority of this reduction is attributable to the new lower estimates provided in the Administration's mid-session budget review for the mandatory accounts funding compensation and pensions, and readjustment benefits.