March 1, 2006
Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093

(Washington, DC) U.S. Senator Larry Craig, chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, spoke to two national veterans organizations Tuesday and asked for their support to keep veterans' programs fully funded and operating well.

"President Bush and his administration have put forward a proposed record increase of 11.3 percent in VA medical care funding for next year. If that request is enacted, VA medical care funding will have grown by 69 percent since 2001, and at the present rate of growth, the VA budget will double nearly every 6 years. In real dollars, VA's budget will rise from less than $50 billion in 2001 to over $100 billion a year in a few short years. That is sobering," Craig said. [See: 2006 - BUDGET CHARTS]

Craig made those remarks on Tuesday morning while speaking to the national gathering of The American Legion. In the afternoon, Craig made similar remarks at a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing with the national organization of Disabled American Veterans (DAV). [To see photos: American Legion speech and DAV hearing]

"I want to make sure I am not misunderstood. We have plenty of money to care for service-connected disabled veterans, those veterans with traumatic injuries, and those who struggle financially everyday. We will continue to provide top-notch care to those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. We will live up to President Lincoln's wise counsel ?To care for him who shall have borne the battle,'" Craig said.

But the chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee noted that when Congress opened the VA health care system to all veterans in 1996, warnings about the budgetary impacts were issued by the Congressional Budget Office and members of Congress. At that time Veterans Service Organizations expressed support for charging some veterans ? those with higher incomes and no service-connected disabilities ? for their care. Until 1996, they were not eligible for the full range of VA services.

"Back then there was universal recognition that eligibility reform would cause significant strain on the federal budget if it was not done correctly. Here we are 10 years later facing that strain," Craig said.

"To continue to provide the best care for veterans, we are going to need to make adjustments, which may include adopting the proposals the VSOs once advocated for ? asking those who have upper incomes and no combat injuries to pay more for their care. That may not be the answer, but I want to make sure that VA medical care is there for those who need it, but affordable to those who want it."

Craig's comments to the American Legion on Tuesday were given shortly before Vice President Dick Cheney spoke to the same crowd. Cheney told the Legionaries that the Bush administration has been determined to "enhance the quality of veterans' health care, to significantly increase the resources going to the VA, to modernize VA facilities, to improve service to veterans' families, and to trim the backlog in processing disability claims."

"The massive budget increases under President Bush's leadership clearly indicate that veterans are, and will remain, one of his highest priorities," Craig said.

On Thursday, March 2, the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee will hold a hearing with five veterans groups ? the Fleet Reserve Association, Air Force Sergeants Association, The Retired Enlisted Association, Gold Star Wives of America, and the Military Officers Association of America. That hearing will be held in room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, starting at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. It will be webcast live, and archived for viewing later, at http://veterans.senate.gov. It may also be audiocast ? during the hearings only ? on C-SPAN's hearings website, located at http://www.capitolhearings.org