The Pentagon was told to reduce its 10-year budget by another $25 billion to protect VA healthcare from spending cuts. Sources within the White House reported that the move was done in an effort to protect VA medical funding from deep cuts in the future.
The Budget Control Act is the source of tension between Defense spending and Veterans Benefits. The Act caps spending for the Defense Department, State Department, Veterans Administration and Department of Homeland Security.
In a hopeful sign, the White House seems to be supporting spending to support current disabled veterans over making new ones with even more war spending.
The President’s budget request for next year is $52.6 billion for veterans’ healthcare. By 2016, the budget is expected to increase to $60 billion.
Overall, the cumulative cuts of all spending under the Budget Control Act could be over $1 trillion over the next 10 years.
In this current economic climate, it’s nice to know programs for disabled veterans are not on the chopping block more than other programs.
For more on this, go to White House Cuts $25 Billion More From Defense to Fund VA in Business Week
