This posted House article has been
up since before the congressional
holiday recess and whether or not
it was included in the end of year
stunt by Bush to Veto the entire
Defense offering from congress is
not yet known. The sessions are
just now restarting so we can
track Bill movements again and
sort out what is what.

Former ranking Chairman and nemesis
republican Rep. Steve Buyer continues
to display his DISCONNECT from
what Veterans need inside this
backlog. He stays virtually in hiding
from all access to Stakeholders
Input with no fax machine and no
email to speak of. He spins his
wheels, going from one story to
another to another as if he is
somehow "pleasing" us, when in
fact, he is one big JerkOff who
is widely known in our Activism
circles as lead "sabateur" to
all good efforts brought forward
by our many Activists throughout
the system.

Long after something is officially
declared unlawful or incompetent,
here comes ole disconnected Steve
putting it up on the House website
and forcing it down our throats
as if he just finished doing something
wonderful for us. Steve Buyer does
NOT represent Veterans --- he represents
the Republican Party AND the Republican
VA. Long after Veterans were calling
for the immediate FIRING of Jim
Nicholson, it was Buyer who was still
posting website releases at the HOUSE
giving him the thumbs up and Atta Boy!

Here in this Omnibus Bill, he is
trying to sneak through the back
door, the full hiring of yet 1,000
more VA Raters for claims, which
means he intends to force all
700,000 of us to set through MORE
falsified documents and more VA
wheel spinning on the heels of
the VDBC Commission declaring the
entire system incompetent and obsoleted.

This is a glaring example, in this
one release package, of what to be
on the lookout for with Steve Buyer,
Idiot Extraordinnaire.

He is the congress Nazi from Hell.

Also in this Bills release, note
the startup implementation of
The Georgia Model at Atlanta, GA.
for the newly constructed PTSD
clinics, this before the VDBC
Commission review hearings have
even completed. I have predicted
this in other chat blogs, and now
here ya have it in the works.

This is a clear demonstration of
them blindly throwing money at
any old thing they can think of,
without EVER changing the process
and the screwups which are built
into the system at the VA's advantage.
While we are getting budget money,
they may just as well stand at
a Washington window and throw it
to the wind because none of this
is what Veterans Activists have
asked for.

Note the tag on at the end of
expanding the VA Inspector Generals
Office, who to this day refuses
all jurisdiction on investigating
VA Raters in the disability claims
arena. Hiring more IG's with NO
changes to the jurisdiction, Yeah
Right - Steve, go step in another
mudhole why don't ya, and excuse us if
we are not amused.

With Steve Buyer, it's all about the
system, and NOT about the Veterans.
You can wait another lifetime, who cares
he says?

_____________________________________




Funding for Veterans’ Benefits and Health Care Included in Omnibus Bill


Washington, D.C. — Today, 187 days after the House passed its bill to fund Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs, a final spending plan is on its way to the President in the form of a massive ‘omnibus’ appropriations package that combines eleven fiscal year (FY) 2008 appropriations measures, as well as a supplemental war bill.

H.R. 2764, the Foreign Operations/ Consolidated Appropriations Bill for 2008, was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 206 to 201. Though the bill would provide a substantial increase for VA, lawmakers designated the extra $3.7 billion above the President’s budget request as ‘contingent emergency’ funding, which means the President must send a formal budget request to Congress by January 18 for the additional money to be available. President Bush has indicated he will sign the bill.

House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) commended and voted in favor of the passage of H.R. 2764, which would provide a record $43.1 billion in discretionary funding for VA healthcare, claims processing, personnel, construction, maintenance and other associated expenses.

“This is a generous bill that makes meaningful improvements in the VA system,” Buyer said. “The passage of this legislation is a tribute to the sacrifice of the men and women who serve in our nation’s armed forces.”

The omnibus bill would provide $124 million for VA to hire 1000 or more additional employees to bolster its compensation and pension claims processing system. In recent years, VA has struggled to reduce an ever increasing backlog of pending claims. In its FY 2008 budget justification, VA identified an increase in claims processing staff as essential to reducing the pending claims inventory and improving timeliness of decisions.

“VA faces a critical challenge in overcoming the claims backlog,” Buyer said. “VA has identified a need in facing this challenge and Congress has addressed that need. Yet, while increased staffing may be an integral part of the solution, it is not a complete remedy. VA must continue to develop its training programs, instill a greater sense of accountability among its employees, and make better use of information technology to deliver timely and accurate claims decisions. Until such improvements are made, the backlog will continue to generate significant difficulties for VA and disabled veterans.”

Additionally, the bill would provide $37.2 billion to the Veterans Health Administration, $4.5 billion over 2007 for veterans’ medical care. VA estimates it will treat more than 5.8 million patients in 2008, 54,000 more than fiscal year 2007.

The following provisions funding VA programs were included in H.R. 2764:

· Medical Services: $29 billion, $3.5 billion above FY 2007 levels to improve access to medical services for all veterans.

· Mental Health and Substance Abuse-- $2.9 billion, $100 million above FY 2007 levels; $429 million for the substance abuse program.

· Homeless Veterans Grant and Per Diem Program-- $130 million, $38 million above FY 2007 levels to help care for homeless veterans.

· Health Care Sharing Incentive Fund--$15 million to be used for joint programs with the Department of Defense to increase research, improve access to care, and ensure a more seamless transition for veterans, particularly in the areas of traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, increased survival of severe burns, and amputation.

· Medical Administration-- $3.5 billion, $339 million above FY 2007 levels

· Medical Facilities-- $4.1 billion, $530 million above FY 2007 levels for on-going maintenance and renovations of existing facilities.

· Medical and Prosthetic Research-- $480 million, $66 million above FY 2007 levels, for research to improve the quality of life for injured and aging veterans.

· Major Construction-- $1.1 billion, to fulfill VA’s commitment to fund recommendations made by the Capitol Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) Commission.

· Extended Care Facilities-- $165 million, $80 million above FY 2007 levels, for grants to states for construction and modification of extended care facilities. The funding level will satisfy all currently identified life and safety needs and still provide funding for the construction of three new facilities.

· General Operating Expenses-- $1.6 billion, $124 million above FY 2007 levels to enable the VA to hire more than 1,000 additional claims processors.

· Information Technology-- $2 billion, $752 million above FY 2007 levels, to improve the health records system to help ensure that medical information follows patients as they transition from the Department of Defense health system to the VA health system.

· Inspector General-- $80.5 million, $9.9 million above FY 2007 levels, will enable VA to hire 50 additional employees to provide necessary oversight of departmental operations, ensuring that resources are spent wisely and that veterans receive the quality care they deserve.

· United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims-- $22.7 million, $2.5 million above FY 2007 levels, to review veterans’ appeals.

· Cemetery Expenses: $31.2 million, $1.2 million above FY 2007 levels.


House Passes S. 1396

Today, the House also cleared S.1396 for the President’s signature. The bill would authorize up to $20.5 million for VA to carry out a major medical facility project for modernization of inpatient wards at the VA medical center in Atlanta, . The Atlanta project was identified as VA’s number one priority for their FY 2008 major construction authorization requests.

___________________________________________

Steve Buyers answer to everything:
If Veterans are being tortured
by a broken and incompetent system,
then beef up the hirings on that
system so they can torture even
better. Yes vote for me, I'm a poor
fool who belongs to the Labor Unions
at the VA !!