[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 17624-17625]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         VETERANS BUDGET REPORT

  Mr. WELLSTONE. This is an area in which the Presiding Officer has 
done a lot of work. I thank the Senator from Arkansas for his good work 
on veterans issues.
  Mr. President, on June 15th I sent letters to each of the twenty-two 
VISN Directors of the VA health care system to ask for data on how 
their network would be affected by the President's flat-lined budget. I 
conducted this survey because the stories coming from rank and file VA 
staff and veterans who I had talked with were horrible:
  Veterans with PTSD waiting months to get treatment;
  Veterans living in fear that facilities would be closed and access to 
care would be cut off;
  VA nurses working mandatory overtime, frequent back to back shifts 
because of staffing shortages.
  But I wasn't getting complete answers in Washington. So to find the 
truth I went to the VISN Directors themselves. By the middle of July, 
all 22 VISN Directors had responded. I am pleased to say that overall 
their responses were very candid. They took my letters in the spirit 
that I intended: to understand the stakes involved in the VA health 
care budget debate here in Washington. Many of these directors showed 
real courage in responding as frankly as they did.
  My staff summarized the responses in a report. I think the findings 
should be of great concern to every one of my colleagues.
  I can best describe the results in two points:
  1. The legacy of the Clinton administration's budget will be fewer VA 
staff, offering fewer services, and treating fewer Veterans.
  2. The House and Senate cannot buy off the nations veterans by adding 
a few hundred million dollars to the President's budget. Only full 
funding will restore the VA to a capacity America's veterans deserve.
  Let me be specific: The report finds that:
  20 VISNs would have funding shortfalls under the Clinton Budget:
  As many as 10,000 employees would be cut under the Clinton budget: 19 
of the 22 VISNs indicated that staff reductions would be necessary 
under the Clinton administration fiscal year 2000

[[Page 17625]]

budget. One VISN indicated that under the President's budget it would 
need to reduce employment by 1,454 FTEEs, a cut of 15.4 percent of that 
VISN's workforce.
  10 VISNs would reduce patient workload under the Clinton budget: Only 
one VISN said it could treat more veterans this year than last year 
under this budget.
  71,129 fewer veterans would be served under the Clinton budget: One 
VISN reported that it may need to eliminate services to as many as 
17,000 veterans. And this number is only the total from the 6 VISNs who 
gave us an estimated number. Again. Four other VISNs said they would 
treat fewer veterans.
  But even an increase of $500 million above the President's budget 
would not reverse this trend. On the contrary, this report shows that 
an increase of such a small amount would still require hard choices and 
in some cases reductions in services, staff, and veterans served.
  At least 12 VISNs would have short falls under Clinton budget plus 
$500 million: the largest deficit for an individual VISN was $100 
million.
  At least 13 VISNs would reduce staffing under the Clinton budget plus 
$500 million--in one VISN by over 1,100 employees.
  At least 38,155 fewer veterans would be served under the Clinton 
budget plus $500 million: Again, only one VISN said it could positively 
increase services to veterans under this scenario. One VISN said it 
would still turn away 9,600 veterans.
  Veterans health care is at a crossroads. While the nation's twenty-
two VISNs have struggled valiantly to do more with a shrinking budget, 
the results of this survey suggest that urgent action is required to 
reverse what has become a funding crisis in VA health care--even as 
America's veterans population becomes older and more reliant on VA 
services. Spending decisions made by Congress in the next few months 
will determine whether predictions made by the 22 VISNs become reality 
or a disaster narrowly averted.
  This funding crisis will affect the World War II veteran, who has to 
drive 6 hours to get care because funding problems prevented the VA 
from opening a community based out-patient clinic in his area.
  This funding crisis will affect the VA nurse who has to work 16 hour 
shifts because hiring enough nurses is too expensive.
  It is outrageous that with federal budget surpluses 20 VISNs will run 
a deficit. It is outrageous that staff will be cut, or furloughed while 
being asked to work harder and longer hours. It is outrageous that over 
71,000 fewer sick and disabled veterans would be treated by the VA next 
year even as they get older. These veterans need more health care not 
less.
  But this story doesn't begin with my report. It is really a 
continuation of a battle begun 13 years ago with the release of the 
first Independent Budget by the major veterans groups. It is the 
continuation of a battle fought by Senator Johnson in the Budget 
Committee--to provide full funding for veterans. And of a battle Tim 
and I fought on the floor on the Senate to provide full funding for 
veterans in the Senate budget resolution--a fight that we won with a 
unanimous vote to increase VA funding to the level recommended by the 
independent budget.
  But let me be clear, this is also a fight we must carry on to 
Appropriations.
  What this report suggests is that we are through cutting the fat out 
of the VA budget. There is nothing left to pare but bone and muscle. 
The VA has reached its fighting weight and has plunged dangerously 
below.
  We've squeezed just about as much money out of the system as we 
possibly can. People on the front lines of veterans health care--
whether care providers or recipients--know that the VA health care 
system is desperately short of resources. I worry that my friend Lyle 
Pearson, of North Mankato, decorated for his service in WWII, disabled 
vet, who receives care at VA facilities in Minnesota, will not get the 
care he needs if the flat-line budget is not improved. I worry that 
veterans across the nation will be caught between increasing need and 
flat-lined funds. Veterans in Bangor, Maine are concerned because a VA 
inspector general report noted that their outpatient clinic had a 10 
month backlog of new patients. Things were so bad last Fall that the 
clinic couldn't see walk-in patients or urgent-care patients, and there 
was a four month wait to see the clinic's part-time psychiatrist. 
Veterans in Iowa are facing the possible closure of one of their three 
major veterans hospitals because of budget shortfalls.
  The last chance for veterans this year is VA/HUD appropriations. But 
we still don't know what the funding level will be the VA/HUD 
appropriations bills. In two and a half months, fiscal 1999 will end 
and we still don't even have a start on funding FY 2000. The bills have 
not been marked up by the committee. This is unacceptable. If veterans 
funding is allocated in the dark of night in a last minute omnibus 
spending bill, I fear the veteran will be short changed. Bring the VA/
HUD bill to the floor. If there isn't enough money in it for veterans, 
we'll amend it to add more.
  A story in the July 18th edition of the Richmond Times Dispatch 
quotes in chairman of the VA/HUD appropriations Subcommittee as saying 
that the budget situation that we face this year is very tough. That 
same article says that VA health care might be facing a $1 billion cut.
  I've heard that rumor. I've heard the rumor that veterans will get an 
increase. Well let me start a rumor this morning that veterans can take 
to the bank: I give notice now to my colleagues that I will be on the 
floor of the Senate offering an amendment to VA/HUD appropriations the 
first opportunity I get if the funding is not enough.
  The veteran has borne the pain of budget cuts for too long. Tax cuts 
should come after relief for veterans. Defense buildups should come 
after relief for veterans. Let's make the veteran the priority again.
  This is a fight to make VA health care the gold standard for health 
care again. It is a fight to keep a promise to the veteran: If you 
served your country your nation will stand up for you. If you were 
injured you will be healed. If you are disabled, the country will raise 
you up--not cast you aside.
  I call on my colleagues to join me and the veterans in this fight. It 
will take every U.S. Senator and every Member of the House. It will 
take the VFW, the DAV, the PVA, the AMVETS, and the Vietnam Vets and 
all the other groups besides.
  Most importantly, America's veterans must demand it. Veterans need to 
hear the call one more time.
  Together we can restore the funds and keep our covenant with the 
veteran.
  Mr. President, today the Vice President announced that the White 
House is going to be asking for another $1 billion. Veterans 
organizations last week--I thank them--came together with us and 
presented this data. We said there are huge problems in the country; a 
lot of veterans aren't going to get the care they need and the care 
that they deserve.
  The Vice President stated the White House is going to ask for an 
additional $1 billion. I thank the Vice President for his announcement. 
That helps. However, we are going to have to do a lot better. That 
still leaves us with a $2 billion shortfall. To my colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle and to the White House and to the Vice President, I 
say that the veterans community is organizing. It is good grassroots 
politics. They are going to hold us all accountable. We will have to do 
a lot better.

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