NEWS FROM….

CONGRESSMAN LANE EVANS

RANKING DEMOCRATIC MEMBER

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS

    U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Says Congress, Administration Must Do Better Next Year

Washington, DC - Lane Evans of Illinois, Democratic Leader of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, called House passage today of legislation appropriating over $19 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for veterans medical care in fiscal year 2000 "an inadequate, hard-won victory which still fails to reach the funding level needed by VA to fully meet the medical care needs of veterans who rely on VA." Evans said recent testimony by the National Commander of The American Legion calling for a $1.5 billion increase in funding for veterans health care next year underscores the continued need for significant additional funding for veterans health care.

While Congress has provided additional funding for veterans health care this year, the budget for next year - adopted by the Republican majority - calls for a $1 billion cut in funding, Evans noted. "I am putting Congressional leaders on notice," he said, "that next year VA must have more rather than less funding to meet the increasing medical needs of America’s aging and service-disabled veterans."

Evans credited the funding increase to the aggressive efforts all year by House Democrats on behalf of the Nation’s veterans, and to the Administration’s willingness to re-work its tight budget to find the additional $1 billion that was the core of a $1.7 billion increase over the Administration’s original request.

"We call on you," Evans and nine colleagues wrote to House-Senate conferees October 7, "to support our Nation’s veterans and to insist the conference agreement provide not less than $19.006 billion for veterans health care in fiscal year 2000." The nine House Veterans Affairs Committee members joining Evans in signing the letter are Bob Filner (D-CA), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Corrine Brown (D-FL), Collin Peterson (D-MN), Julia Carson (D-IN), Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX), Ronnie Shows (D-MS) and Shelley Berkley (D-NV).

Throughout the floor debates on the VA-HUD bill, Evans says, "the Republican majority refused to consider amendment after amendment that would have provided for adequate health care for our Nation’s veterans. This is an inadequate appropriation. America’s veterans know this and I am one of them."

Repeated reports that the Department of Veterans Affairs has been denying, rationing, excessively delaying or postponing the delivery of health care led Evans to demand a full-scale, no-stone-unturned inquiry. Evans called "VA rationing of health care to needy veterans a failure of political leadership in Congress by those who have and continue to refuse to provide needed funding for veterans health care. The VA health care system and the veterans it is supposed to care for are being nickel-and-dimed to death, in some cases literally. We cannot slice the pie so thin again next year."