2014 MilCon-VA Bill: Highlights and Key Points
Highlights and Key Points:
2013 Enacted: $71.929 billion
President's Request: $74.690 billion
Appropriations bill: $73.320 billion
Military Construction: $9.954 billion, a decrease of $670 million below 2013 and $1.056 billion below the budget request, is provided for Military Construction programs.
• The Appropriations bill provides Reserve Components total funding of $676.3 million, which is $17 million below the FY2014 budget request and $369 million below the FY2013 enacted level.
• The Appropriations bill fully funds the FY2014 budget request for Family Housing construction at $1.542 billion, a reduction of $107 million from the FY2013 enacted level.
• The Appropriations bill fully funds the FY2014 budget request for the new combined BRAC account at $451.3 million, a decrease of $84.2 million from the FY2013 enacted level.
• The Appropriations bill rescinds $659.4 million from prior appropriations Acts due to savings on projects and the decision to incrementally fund selected large projects.
Veterans Affairs: The Appropriations bill includes $63.120 billion in discretionary funding, which is $2.1 billion above the fiscal year 2013 and $337.5 million below the fiscal year 2014 request. The bill also includes the budget request of $55.6 billion in fiscal year 2015 advance appropriations for VA medical services.
• As authorized by Congress in 2009, the VA medical services accounts are provided funding one year in advance. The bill includes the budget request for fiscal year 2015 advance funding of $55.6 billion.
• The Appropriations bill fully funds Information Technology (IT) at $3.683 billion.
• The Appropriations bill fully funds prosthetic research at $585.6 million, which is $3.5 million above FY2013.
• The Appropriations bill fully funds construction accounts at $1.057 billion.
• The Appropriations bill mandates a report and comprehensive plan from the Department of Veterans Affairs on preventing suicide among veterans.
Fixing Veterans' Medical Records and Claims Backlog
• The Appropriations bill fully funds General Operating Expenses for the Veterans Benefits Administration to support an increase of 94 claims processors, all of whom will work on disability claims. The Appropriations bill requires the VA to report monthly to Congress on several claims backlog reduction metrics.
• The Appropriations bill fully funds the Veterans Benefit Management System (VBMS) at $155 million and the Veterans Claims Intake Program (VCIP) at $136.4 million to convert paper records into digital files.
• The Appropriations bill restricts the availability of funds for the development of an electronic health records system unless it meets the requirements of being single, joint, common, and integrated, with an open architecture, and the sole system used by both DoD and VA.
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