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Funding Highlights:

Provides$63.5billionindiscretionaryfundingfortheDepartmentofVeteransAffairs,an8.5percentincreaseoverthe2012enactedlevel,toprovideneededcareandotherbenetstoveteransandtheirfamilies.Inaddition,theBudgetincludes$3.1billioninestimatedmedical

carecollections,foratotalbudgetauthorityofapproximately$66.5billion.

Includes$54.6billionforveteransmedicalcare,supportingcontinuingimprovementsinthedeliveryofmentalhealthcare,thedevelopmentoftelehealthtechnologies,specializedcareforwomenveterans,andbenetsforveteranscaregivers.

Requests$55.6billionin2015advanceappropriationsformedicalcareprograms,toensurecontinuityofveteranshealthcareservices.

Provides$1.4billiontosupporttheAdministrationsongoingeffortstocombatveteranhomelessness.

Invests$586millionformedicalandprostheticresearcheffortstoadvancethecareandqualityoflifeforveterans.

Provides$799milliontoensuretimelyactivationofnewandrenovatedmedicalfacilitiesalreadyunderconstruction.

ImprovestheDepartmentsefciencybyinvesting$136millioninaVeteransClaimsIntakeProgram,continuingtoimplementthepaperlessclaimssystem,andundertakingadditionaleffortstoprovidefasterandmoreaccuratebenetsclaimsprocessingandimproveveteransaccesstobenetsinformation.

Provides$104millionthroughanewTransitionAssistanceProgramcalledTransitionGPStohelpseparatingmilitaryservicemembersbettertransitiontocivilianlife.

SupportsthreenewnationalcemeteriesforveteransinFloridaandNebraska.

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Our Nation has a solemn obligation to takecare o our veterans and to honor them or theirservice and sacrifce on behal o the UnitedStates. To deliver on this commitment, the

2014 Presidents Budget provides $63.5 billionin discretionary unding or the Department o

Veterans Aairs (VA), an 8.5 percent increaseabove the 2012 enacted level. In addition, the

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146 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Budget includes $3.1 billion in estimated medi-cal care collections, or a total budget authorityo approximately $66.5 billion. This unding willcontinue to drive improvements in efciency andresponsiveness at VA, enabling the Department to

better serve veterans and their amilies at a timewhen much is being asked o our men and womenin uniorm. The Budget supports eorts to en-sure we meet the needs o todays veteran popula-tion, and invests in the continued modernizationo VA to meet 21st Century challenges.

Sustains and StrengthensServices for Veterans

Protects Critical Funding or VA MedicalCare. The Budget provides $54.6 billion or VA

medical care, a 7.9 percent increase above the2012 enacted level, to provide high-quality andtimely health care services to veterans and othereligible benefciaries. These services include in-novative programs to educate and support veter-ans caregivers, enhance veterans access to care

via telehealth technologies, and support the pro-vision o equitable, high-quality care or womenveterans in a sensitive and sae environment.In addition, the Budget proposes $55.6 billion inadvance appropriations or the VA medical careprogram in 2015, which will provide timely and

predictable unding or VAs medical care to pre-vent our veterans rom being adversely aectedby appropriations delays.

Strengthens Mental Health Care Services.The Budget provides nearly $7 billion, a 15.4 per-cent increase above the 2012 enacted level, tocontinue VAs ocus on expanding and transorm-ing mental health services or veterans to ensureaccessible and patient-centered care, includingtreatment or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder andMilitary Sexual Trauma. This unding will allow

VA to continue its collaborative eorts with theDepartments o Deense (DOD) and Health andHuman Services, as directed in the Presidentsexecutive order on veterans mental health, tohelp veterans receive timely access to mentalhealth services, including through enhancedpartnerships with community providers.

Combats Veteran Homelessness. TheBudget invests $1.4 billion to provide VA servicesor homeless and at-risk veterans. These unds willhelp combat veterans homelessness through col-laborative partnerships with local governments,

non-proft organizations, and the Departments oHousing and Urban Development, Justice, andLabor.

Supports Medical and ProstheticResearch. As part o the largest integratedhealth care system in the United States, the VAresearch program benefts rom clinical care andresearch occurring together, allowing discoveriesto be directly coordinated with the care o veter-ans. In particular, the Budget includes $586 mil-lion in unds or medical and prosthetic research.

Activates New and Improved Health CareFacilities. The Budget includes $799 million tohelp VA provide the best possible specialized careor veterans in new or renovated acilities. Theseunds will support the sta and equipment at VAacilities across the Nation, including improvedpolytrauma and spinal cord injury units.

Improves Health Care Delivery or OurNations Veterans. The Budget includes und-ing or VA to urther assess and develop efcien-

cies and successul practices by analyzing the de-livery and reimbursement o health care withinother Federal health programs, such as DeenseHealth Programs and Medicare. This assessmentwill help to drive uture innovation as VA strivesto continually improve health outcomes, qualityo care, and access to services while responsiblymanaging public resources.

Continues Implementation o thePaperless Claims System. The Budget in-cludes $136 million or a Veterans Claims IntakeProgram that will allow VA to directly receive andconvert paper evidence, such as medical records,into a digital ormat or increased efciency inclaims processing. The Budget also supportstransormation initiatives, including the con-tinued development o a digital, near-paperlessenvironment that allows or greater exchangeo inormation and increased transparency or

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THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2014 147

veterans. Specifcally, the Budget includes $155million or the Veterans Beneft ManagementSystem, designed to reduce the processing timeand the claims backlog, acilitate quality improve-ments through rules-based calculators that pro-

vide claims processors better capabilities to as-sign accurate service-connected evaluation, andautomate claims tracking. These overall eortssupport VAs pursuit o eliminating the claimsbacklog and achieving VAs goal o processing allclaims within 125 days with 98 percent accuracyin 2015.

Supports Veteran Employment andTransition Assistance. The Budget provides$104 million to help our Nations servicememberstransition to civilian lie ater over 10 years o

war. The Budget supports the enhancement othe inter-agency Transition Assistance Program,designed by the Veterans Employment InitiativeTask Force, by creating a new program calledTransition GPS (Goals, Plans, Success). TheTransition GPS program will help separatingservicemembers prepare or their civilian lie byproviding pre-separation assessments and in-dividual counseling, a fve-day core curriculum,an additional curriculum tailored to the service-members individual career goals, and a capstoneevent to veriy that transitioning servicemem-

bers have met certain standards that show theyare ready or their civilian careers. For example,Transition GPS will provide servicememberswith comprehensive benefts briefngs, addi-tional training on VA education programs, andacilitated access to other government agencies

to ensure that servicemembers can ully utilizeavailable education and employment services asthey prepare to separate.

Improves Access to Comprehensive

Services and Benefts. The Budget supportsVAs eorts to ensure consistent, personalized, andaccurate inormation about services and benefts,especially in the delivery o compensation andpension claims processing. In order to improvethe speed, eectiveness, and efciency o beneftsservice delivery, the joint DOD/VA eBenefts webportal provides veterans with the critical sel-ser-

vice capabilities to manage their VA, military andpersonal inormation, apply online or benefts,and check the status o a claim.

Expands Access to National VeteransCemeteries. In 2011, VA reduced the popula-tion threshold used to determine where new na-tional veterans cemeteries should be built rom170,000 to 80,000 veterans living within 75 mileso a potential location. Under this lower thresh-old, VA will develop fve new cemeteries, provid-ing a nearby national cemetery option to at least550,000 additional veterans and resulting in 94percent o all veterans having a veterans cem-etery burial option within a reasonable distancerom their homes. The Budget provides unding

to construct and open the frst three o these fvenew national cemeteries which would be locatedin St. Augustine, Florida, Tallahassee, Florida,and Omaha, Nebraska.

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