FOR RELEASE: May 7, 2001

“Back to Bush” Budget:  Bad News for America’s Veterans

Says Democratic Veterans’ Leader Evans

 Washington, DC - Congressman Lane Evans (D-IL), the Democratic leader of the House Veterans Affairs Committee came out today against the conference agreement on a 10-year budget that Republican leaders attempted to pass early Friday, May 4, 2001.  A vote was cancelled after Republicans failed to make the entire bill available for consideration.  The vote is now scheduled for tomorrow. 

Information made available on a House Republican website indicates that veterans’ programs could receive funds significantly lower than the funding level for FY 2002 -- passed earlier in the House Budget Resolution.  Further reductions may have been made to the programs in order to shift funds to an emergency reserve fund, but this shift’s impact is not fully clear in documents provided to Democrats to date.  

“Republicans talk a good game”, said Evans.  “They pass huge increases in Committees to share with the press and with veterans, but when the rubber hits the road we see that they are not able to reconcile their promises to America’s veterans with the giant tax cut they’ve promised to America’s taxpayers.  The numbers just don’t add up.” 

Evans went on to say that his analysis of information available to date indicates that the joint resolution will eliminate the gains made for veterans’ programs in the House and Senate resolutions for fiscal year 2002.  The House added $730 million to the President’s request for veterans’ programs, while the Senate passed two separate resolutions that would have added about $1.7 billion to the Bush request of about a $1 billion increase for veterans’ program.  

Veterans groups agree with Evans that the Bush budget was inadequate.  In a press release from February, The American Legion said “The Bush Administration’s Fiscal Year 2002 budget for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs is not good enough…Frankly, this budget is insufficient to fulfill the campaign promises George W. Bush made….”   

Other veterans agree.  In a letter to the Senate from four major veterans’ service organizations:  AMVETS, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans, the increase recommended by the Bush Administration was described as an “amount [that] would not even cover the costs of mandated salary increases and the effects of inflation.” 

Evans vowed to vote against the inadequate funding resolution for veterans.  “The American people need to understand the effect of this overblown tax cut.  Our veterans will pay the price.”

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