{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://valadao.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1498", "Valadao Joins House Appropriators to Ensure Veterans can Continue Accessing Benefits", "2024-09-06", "2024", "2024-09", "Republican", "House", "CA", "David G. Valadao", "V000129", "valadao.house.gov", "valadao", "https://valadao.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee Member Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-22) joined Congressman Mike Garcia (CA-27), Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee Chairman Judge Carter (TX-31), Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (OK-04), and House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-IL) to introduce the Veterans Benefits Continuity and Accountability Supplemental Appropriations Act. The bill addresses the $3 billion mandatory shortfall for disability and education benefits the VA expects to face by October.\n\n\u201cOur veterans have made incredible sacrifices for our country, and we owe it to them to ensure they have access to the benefits they\u2019ve earned,\u201d said Congressman Valadao. \u201cThis bill addresses the immediate funding need at the VA, while also taking the necessary steps to ensure this kind of budget mismanagement doesn\u2019t happen again. I\u2019m proud to join my colleagues to ensure veterans across the Central Valley can continue to access their benefits. I\u2019ll continue working to hold the VA accountable for our veterans.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Biden-Harris Administration's reckless mismanagement of the VA's budget has led to a crisis that puts veterans' benefits at risk. This isn't just about a funding shortfall\u2014it's about holding the Administration accountable for its failures,\u201d said Congressman Garcia. \u201cWe cannot simply throw more money at a broken system and enable further waste and mismanagement. My bill is focused on both ensuring our veterans receive the care they've earned and demanding accountability from those in charge. We need to fix what's broken, not just fund it, and make sure our heroes are never left behind by the failures of this Administration.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur veterans defended our nation and values. They earned care and benefits through their service, and Congress won\u2019t tolerate department mismanagement that threatens resources they rely on,\u201d said Chairman Cole. \u201cThis shortfall is a glaring failure by the Biden-Harris Administration and its VA, marking one of the largest financial discrepancies in recent history. It also reflects a grave departure from their budget submission provided mere months ago. Our heroes deserve more than this incompetence. Through this bill, we ensure that promised benefits remain secure and enact needed oversight to guarantee full accountability and transparency.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe made a promise to America\u2019s veterans, and this supplemental is Congress\u2019 way of fulfilling that promise by ensuring they receive the benefits they\u2019re owed. While House Republicans are going to do what\u2019s necessary to take care of our heroes, I am gravely disappointed that the VA has irresponsibly put veterans in this position. The veterans\u2019 benefits that are at risk with this shortfall are crucial to veterans\u2019 livelihoods and the mismanagement by the VA is shameful,\u201d Subcommittee Chairman Carter said.\n\nChairman Bost said, \u201cThe VA budget is serious business that has a real impact on veterans\u2019 lives. The Biden-Harris Administration has embarrassed themselves with how poorly they have mismanaged and run VA\u2019s budget into the ground, resulting in a $15 billion dollar shortfall. That should have never happened, and the Biden-Harris VA must be held accountable. But time and time again, especially when it comes to the men and women who have served, House Republicans will always be there to clean up this Administration\u2019s mess. I want to thank my friend and fellow veteran, Rep. Mike Garcia, for his leadership on this vitally important legislation to right the ship and ensure that veterans can continue to receive the benefits and services they have earned.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nThe Department of Veteran Affairs\u2019 (VA) failure to properly budget and account for enrollment growth and staffing costs in its budgetary process resulted in an unprecedented funding shortfall in veteran benefits for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2024 and into Fiscal Year 2025.\n\nThe House Appropriations Committee was notified of the potential shortfall in July - four months after the Biden-Harris Administration submitted its Budget Request and following the markup of FY25 legislation in both chambers of Congress. The VA\u2019s updated projections indicated a need of approximately $15 billion above what was originally requested, including an additional $3 billion for the remainder of FY24 for Compensation and Pensions and Readjustment Benefits (mandatory funding) and an additional $12 billion for FY25 for VA medical care (discretionary funding).\n\nThe Veterans Benefits Continuity and Accountability Supplemental Appropriations Act addresses the $3 billion shortfall in mandatory funding, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates would have no net budget effects. The bill also includes language that holds the Administration accountable, requiring a report to be submitted to Congress no later than 30 days after enactment as to why these budgetary errors took place and ways the VA is addressing its failure to accurately project needs and recurring reports on the status of funds of these accounts moving forward.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:43:57Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://valadao.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1498"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9937742725014687, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}