Advance funding for VA still an uphill battle - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Advance funding for VA still an uphill battle

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki’s Wednesday testimony before a key congressional panel included a buzzkill for the top priority of veterans service groups — advanced funding for veterans health care programs.

Advanced funding is a mechanism, endorsed by President Barack Obama, under which Congress would approve veterans health care budgets one year in advance to avoid any lapse in funding if an annual appropriations bill isn’t approved on time, as often happens.

All major veterans service organizations approve the idea, and have put it at the top of their combined legislative agenda for the year.

Excitement has surrounded the issue recently because the chairmen of the House and Senate veterans’ affairs committees also have backed the initiative, and the 2010 budget spending guideline approved by Congress includes the waivers of budgetary procedures that are necessary for it to be approved.

But as Shinseki appeared before the House appropriations subcommittee responsible for veterans funding to discuss the 2010 budget, Rep. Zach Wamp of Tennessee, the panel’s ranking Republican, rained on the advanced appropriations parade.

Wamp said he does not support the idea because he believes it would reduce congressional oversight and make the powerful appropriators who dole out federal funding irrelevant.

And in a little dig at Shinseki, Wamp said he was well aware the Obama administration also has had doubts. Shinseki himself told Congress that he preferred timely annual budgets over advance appropriations, a statement made in February before Obama held an April 9 news conference to announce he was siding with veterans groups on the issue.

Wamp’s views that advanced funding reduces appropriations committee members’ power — shared by other members — is one reason why the initiative still faces an uphill fight.

It could only succeed if the House and Senate appropriations committees approve a two-year budget, one for 2010 and another for 2011, and there is no indication they plan to do so.