“We call on Congress to fully fund the president’s fiscal year (FY) 2017 request and pass a budget for VA before the beginning of the new fiscal year,” said DAV Washington Headquarters Executive Director Garry Augustine. “VA is at a critical tipping point in its transformation, and we simply cannot afford to impede critical initiatives with uncertainty and funding delays.”

Senate negotiators have been working for weeks to fashion a spending deal that avoids a government shutdown October 1st.  Senate leaders have scheduled a procedural vote on Tuesday limiting debate for the 10-week continuing resolution. If things go according to plan, this stopgap spending package would provide VA a full year of funding, including $1.7 billion over what President Obama requested for veterans’ medical care.

Augustine said the bill needs to be passed in time to continue critical VA reform efforts and health care services for veterans in need of hepatitis C treatments, caregiver benefits, long-term care, and activations of new medical clinics. “This bill provides stable, reliable funding for VA and provides advance appropriation for FY 2018,” added Augustine.