$109b for veterans in late spending bill

[unhappycamper]

$109b for veterans in late spending bill
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Dec 9, 2009 16:32:29 EST

Congressional negotiators have agreed to spend $109.6 billion on veterans programs and $24.7 on military construction as they try to wrap up work on the federal budget for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

Additionally, they are setting aside $48.2 billion in advance funding for veterans health care programs for 2011 — money intended to prevent disruption of medical services and research efforts if Congress doesn’t pass the fiscal 2011 budget on time.

Funding for veterans programs and military construction are part of an omnibus appropriations bill unveiled Tuesday night that covers programs for nine federal departments and dozens of separate agencies that normally would have been spread over six different bills.

If approved, the consolidated bill would mean that the only part of the government without an approved 2010 budget would be the Defense Department, which would continue to operate under limited funding authority.

Congressional aides working on the appropriations bills said leaving out defense was not intended as a slight, but was instead a sign of the importance of funding the military. A defense spending bill is one of the few measures almost guaranteed to pass Congress and be enacted, so lawmakers are holding that to be the last bill passed for the year because they may want to attach other legislation as riders on the bill, such as extensions of expiring laws and a possible extension of unemployment benefits.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/12/military_veterans_budget_120909w/