In This Issue: 1. VA Funding Passes House 2. New Housing Bill has Vet Provisions 3. House Passes Vet Bills 4. Congress on August Recess 1 . VA funding Passes House: By a 409-4 vote, the House passed the 2009 VA and Military Construction funding bill. The bill builds on last year's historic funding increase, providing $8.8 billion more than last year's funding level. For VA, it's a $4.6 billion increase in funding to a total of $47.7 billion. It includes funding to treat the 40,000 new Iraq and Afghanistan veterans that VA expects to treat this year. It also includes funding for: * Priority 8 veterans - would allow a small number of new Priority 8 veterans back into the health care system * Mental health care - nearly $1 billion more than last year's funding level for PTSD, suicide prevention and other mental illnesses * Mileage Reimbursement - would increase the rate by $.13 per mile and freeze the deductible * Rural care - increases funding for rural care options, especially targeted at returning Guard and Reserve members who live far away from VA facilities * Research and prosthetics - over $170 million more than last year's amount * Claims processors - allows the hiring of 2,100 additional processors to help reduce the disability claims backlog * Construction - begins funding six additional VA facilities and allows smaller projects to be conducted at 145 additional locations The Military Construction portion of the bill includes $33 ...
Anytime
