Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-4), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, today hailed passage of a record $2.8 billion increase for veterans medical care services this year.  Smith, who had fought all year to ensure the record level of funding, said that today’s action is “another example of Congress fulfilling its obligations to meet the legitimate needs of our nation’s veterans.”

    “For the third consecutive year, Congress has passed a record budget to fund the medical care programs of the Veterans Health Administration,” Smith said.  “I am pleased that VA will be able to provide health care services for over 7 million enrolled veterans, including more than 340,000 enrolled here in New Jersey,” he said.

    “Veterans medical care funding will increase by $2.8 billion from $23.9 billion last year to $26.7 billion in this year – that’s a whopping 12 percent increase in one year,” Chairman Smith said.  “This follows on top of a $2.6 billion – 12 percent – increase last year,” he said.

    “Veterans medical care funding has now increased 25 percent in just the past two years and has grown by 54 percent over five years – from $17.3 billion to $26.7 billion – for an average of almost 11 percent per year,” Smith said.  “Overall veterans funding will rise 10 percent this year to a record level of $63.3 billion, a $5.6 billion increase over FY 2003." 

    Smith said that today’s actions culminate one of the most productive years ever by Congress on behalf of veterans.  The House today also gave final approval to legislation authored by Smith, H.R. 100, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, to help ease the financial and legal burdens on servicemembers called to active duty or deployed overseas in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

    Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Smith also cited the approval last month of historic ‘concurrent receipt’ legislation that will result in $22 billion going to disabled military retirees over the next ten years.  Other major new laws approved this year include the:

• Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 (H.R. 2297), which expands compensation and readjustment benefits for disabled veterans and surviving spouses;
  
• Veterans Health Care, Capital Asset, and Business Improvement Act of 2003 (S. 1156), which authorizes repairs, renovations, and new construction of VA health care facilities, and also expands specialized health care programs, such as mental health and long term care; and
  
• National Cemetery Expansion Act of 2003 (H.R. 1516), which authorizes the construction of six new national cemeteries for veterans and their families.