(Washington, DC): -- Congressman Mike McNulty (D-Green Island) today called on President Bush to immediately address the $1.3 billion shortfall in veterans’ health care funding acknowledged by the Administration last week.

“Additional funding is urgently needed today to care for troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the heroes from former conflicts who rely upon the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for their health care,” McNulty wrote, with over 200 of his House colleagues, in a letter sent to the President this afternoon.

“There’s nothing gained by playing, ‘I-told-you-so,’ but it’s worth pointing out that some of us warned of this shortfall months ago. Now, the Administration has finally admitted that the VA system is short more than $1 billion, but we’re already well into the annual appropriations process. It’s up to the White House to find this funding,” the congressman said.

Last Friday, the Bush Administration acknowledged that it is short at least $1 billion for covering needs at the Department of Veterans Affairs this year. The shortfall emerged during a midyear VA budget review and was acknowledged only during lengthy questioning of Jonathan B. Perlin, VA Undersecretary for Health.

“This is proof positive that the Bush Administration is not living up to its promise to veterans and their families,” said McNulty. “It not only negatively affects thousands of veterans in the Capital Region and across the country currently waiting for healthcare, but also sends the wrong message to our newest veterans’ and the troops bravely serving our country now.”

In the letter, McNulty and his fellow Members asked Bush to submit a supplemental appropriations bill to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 to address the shortfall in veteran’s health care funding and demanded that the President submit budgets that more accurately meet the needs of our veterans in the future. “What is even more troubling is that funding for veterans’ health care beyond 2007 is cut significantly below the amount needed just to account for inflation,” McNulty wrote.

In addition to the FY2005 shortfall, the Washington Post reported Monday that the VA has recently been concerned with hanging pictures of Secretary Jim Nicholson in VA facilities, medical clinics and community clinics around the country. According to the Post, during a weekly conference call a few weeks ago among senior officials at the Veterans Health Administration, the medical arm of the VA, “Deputy Undersecretary Laura Miller said ‘many of our facilities and [other] offices have a picture of Secretary Nicholson prominently displayed…Unfortunately, however,’ Miller continued, ‘there are many facilities that currently do not have the picture displayed. I am aware that the mailings of the pictures occurred on April 22, 2005…and I cannot stress the importance of this enough,’ she said. ‘We are asking that you give this your highest priority. We will continue to ask for daily updates on the status until we are assured that all of our facilities have a current picture displayed.’

“The Department of Veterans Affairs has a lot of explaining to do,” said McNulty. “President Bush can immediately correct this behavior by asking Congress to approve an additional $1.3 billion for our veterans – and reminding the VA that the health and well-being of our veterans is a higher priority than placing the Secretary’s picture on the wall.”

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