Veterans can expect to see increased and improved services in several key areas such as— outreach, homelessness, suicide prevention, and caregiver support. These modifications are part of President Joe Biden's proposed budget pending approval by Congress in fiscal 2021.
With a massive 8.2 percent increase in discretionary funding — the third most of any federal department — on top of mandatory spending for veterans benefits factored in; total VA spending should surpass $250 billion, the largest department budget in history.
What the President has proposed is not necessarily what will be passed by Congress. But Congress will spend the next several months debating budget priorities before settling on a compromise budget plan later this year. VA spending tends to be one of the least controversial parts of the budget process, which gives rise to great hope for increased funding in these areas:
• An increase from $310 million to $540 million in fiscal 2022 for suicide prevention programs, including expansion of the Veterans Crisis Line;
• More than $2.1 billion in total spending dedicated to “further the administration’s goal of achieving a systematic end to veteran’s homelessness.” That reflects a 4.4 increase in this line item from FY 2021.
• A jump of almost 12 percent, to nearly $900 million, for medical and prosthetic research.
• An additional $3.3 billion in medical spending on top of $94 billion in advance appropriations already approved for FY 2022.
These funds would be combined with $15 billion in supplemental funds approved as part of the latest pandemic relief package. Those funds are designed to restore operations, and program pauses as a result of the pandemic. (See recent blog, Referral Teams to Ease Appointment Process)
Again, these numbers are proposed numbers in President Biden’s 2022 budget. But even if these proposals are not 100 percent funded by Congress, veterans should rest assured that will be a hefty increase in federal spending for health care services in the next budget year.