House votes to add nearly $1 billion for veterans health

The House Thursday night approved a $975 million fiscal 2005 supplemental spending bill for veterans health care to make up for a shortfall based on earlier faulty estimates.

There were signs late Thursday that the White House was engaged on the matter, urging senators to take up and approve the House-passed bill once it is sent over.

The Senate Wednesday added $1.5 billion for veterans' health to the $26.3 billion fiscal 2006 Interior appropriations bill, which would provide enough for the last three months of this fiscal year and provide some breathing room heading into fiscal 2006. Senators said the House bill was insufficient because it does not envision funds going forward into 2006.

"The House, instead of agreeing with us and putting the dollars to work where they are so needed, has decided to take a major step backwards," Senate Appropriations ranking member Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., said. "The Senate stated very clearly that we would not allow veterans' healthcare needs to go unmet." Byrd suggested the House was trying to back the Senate into voting for the lesser amount by passing its bill and leaving town without allowing a change to negotiate a compromise.

The White House is preparing a fiscal 2006 budget amendment, which will probably top $1 billion; funds for both fiscal years might then be included in the final Interior spending bill sent to the president's desk.

"To do anything less than what we did yesterday would be inadequate," Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Larry Craig, R-Idaho, said. He said no veterans would lose healthcare coverage because the agency will be able to cover the gap through accounting moves until Congress reconvenes next month to finish work on the Interior bill.

The Senate Appropriations Committee, in a symbolic show of support for $1.5 billion, amended an unrelated $31.8 billion 2006 Foreign Operations spending bill to express the chamber's will that when the House sends over its $975 million supplemental, the Senate would send it back to the House with an amended $1.5 billion total.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., had a busy lineup already to dispense with before the recess, including the Central America Free Trade Agreement, a $3.8 billion 2006 Legislative Branch spending bill and a $31.2 billion 2006 Energy and Water appropriations measure.

Despite the bicameral friction, House GOP lawmakers were proud of their response to the VA shortfall. Even if the funds are not sent to the president's desk imminently, House members will still be able to trumpet their accomplishment back home.

"Our members are delighted we moved so quickly," said House Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman James Walsh, R-N.Y., who noted the funds would take care of the shortfall and give lawmakers time to work with the administration on a longer-term fix.

House Republicans avoided having to designate the funds an "emergency" to get around spending caps, as there was just enough room left within fiscal 2005 limits because of unused funds associated with a $1 billion loan guarantee for Turkey that was rescinded in May.

House GOP and Democratic lawmakers are not nearly as unified on the issue as their Senate counterparts, however. During debate on the $66.9 billion fiscal 2006 Transportation-Treasury-HUD measure that also funds OMB, House Appropriations ranking member David Obey, D-Wis., offered an amendment that would restate OMB policy that administration officials give "frank and complete answers" in communications with lawmakers, criticizing the VA for failing to own up to the accounting error when it was discovered in April.

The amendment failed, 215-208. The overall Transportation measure was approved, 405-18.

Passage of the spending bill marked the 11th and final appropriations measure to be approved by the House.

Office of Management and Budget Director Joshua Bolten praised House GOP leaders and Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., for getting the bills done while "meeting the administration's major goals for spending restraint: holding overall discretionary spending below the rate of inflation and reducing non-security discretionary spending below last year's level."