News and Announcements

President Biden has signed a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill that provides a substantial increase in VA funding for fiscal year (FY) 2022. The bill provides VA with $112.6 billion in discretionary spending and $157 billion in mandatory spending. Also, it provides advanced appropriations for FY 2023, including $111.3 billion for veterans medical care and $161 billion for veterans benefits. Specific provisions in the bill provide:   • $97.5 billion for VA medical care including:  o $13.2 billion for mental health; o $2.2 billion for veteran homelessness prevention; o $1.4 billion for the caregivers program; o $840 million for women’s health; and o $327 million for rural health.  • $5.5 billion for information technology systems;  • $3.5 billion for Veterans Benefits Administration operating expenses and claims processors;  • $2.2 billion for VA infrastructure;  • $882 million for medical and prosthetics research, including in areas such as toxic exposures, traumatic brain injury, and precision oncology;  • $239 million for VA’s Office of Inspector General to conduct ongoing oversight and investigations of waste, fraud, and abuse; and • $125 million for the Veteran Employment Through Technology Education Courses (VET TEC) pilot program, which provides tuition and housing assistance to veterans in high-tech, high demand career training.   In addition, the language of H.R. 5575, the VA Nurse and Physician Assistant RAISE Act was included in the omnibus package. This bill increases the pay cap on salaries for nurses, advanced practice registered nurses, and physician assistants employed by VA which will help the department attract and retain top health care talent to ensure veterans receive timely, high-quality care. Passage of this legislation was one of PVA’s top priorities for 2022, and it is an important element of a 10-part human infrastructure plan VA released last month. 

  Recently, VA announced it intends to propose adding certain rare respiratory cancers to the list of presumed service-connected disabilities in relation to military environmental exposure to particulate matter. The cancers under consideration include:

· Squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx;

· Squamous cell carcinoma of the trachea;

· Adenocarcinoma of the trachea;

· Salivary gland-type tumors of the trachea;

· Adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung;

· Large cell carcinoma of the lung;

· Salivary gland-type tumors of the lung;

· Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung; and

· Typical and atypical carcinoid of the lung.

VA intends to focus its rule on the rare respiratory cancers listed above in veterans who served any amount of time in the Southwest Asia theater of operations and other locations. VA will invite and consider public comments as part of this process. Once rulemaking is complete, VA will conduct outreach to impacted veterans and survivors to inform them about their potential eligibility for benefits.

  On March 3, the House voted to pass the Honoring our PACT Act(H.R. 3967) by a vote of 256-174. The PACT Act is comprehensive legislation addressing health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxics substances in service. The day before passage of this landmark legislation, Associate Legislative Director Roscoe Butler attended a press conference on Capitol Hill in support of the measure. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mark Takano (D-CA), Speaker Nancy Pelosi, other members of Congress, Jon Stewart, and leaders of major veterans service organizations also participated in the event.

March is Women’s History Month. VA’s Center for Women Veterans serves as an advocate for cultural transformation and to raise awareness of the responsibility to treat women veterans with dignity and respect. To learn more about the Center, click  here.

  On March 8, PVA National President Charles Brown testified before a joint session of the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees to present PVA’s 2022 legislative priorities. In his statement to the Committees, President Brown focused on three critically important issues that Congress must address for catastrophically disabled veterans: 1) improved access to specialty systems of care, 2) expanded access to home and community-based services, and 3) increased access to benefits that promote the health, safety, and independence of catastrophically disabled veterans. To view the hearing, click here. To read President Brown’s full written statement, click here.