WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, today released the following statement regarding the president’s proposed fiscal year 2017 budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA):

“The president’s budget request for the VA includes funding for a number of critical programs, such as improving the appeals and benefits processes, reducing veteran homelessness, improving information technology and helping veterans receive care outside of the VA. However, this budget request is almost double the VA budget in 2009, and since then, the VA has been plagued by scandals and mismanagement and has consistently proven its inability to use its existing resources.

“The solution to fixing a broken agency is not simply giving it more money. As chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, I am committed to working with the VA to develop a more realistic budget that meets the needs of our nation’s veterans and funds important initiatives without wasting taxpayer money.”  

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The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is chaired by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the 114th Congress.

Isakson is a veteran himself – having served in the Georgia Air National Guard from 1966-1972 – and has been a member of the Senate VA Committee since he joined the Senate in 2005. Isakson’s home state of Georgia is home to more than a dozen military installations representing each branch of the military as well as more than 750,000 veterans.