This morning VA Secretary Eric Shinseki will appear before the House Veterans Affairs Committee to discuss the fiscal year 2013 VA budget. The VFW and our partners in the Independent Budget will also appear before the committee to present the veterans’ community’s views on how Congress should fund the department in the coming year.
The hearing will commence at 10:30 a.m. in the committee’s chambers, room 334 of the Cannon House Office Building. To view a live webcast of the hearing, click here.
National Legislative Director Ray Kelley will testify on behalf of the VFW, focusing on the VA’s construction and capital investment budget; an area in which the Independent Budget partners noticed considerable discrepancies between their analysis and VA’s budget proposal announced earlier this week.
Over the last two years, the VA budget has significantly scaled back capital investment projects in an effort to control spending during difficult fiscal times. In his remarks, Kelley plans to focus on why VA needs to properly invest in infrastructure to meet the ever-changing needs of a veterans’ population in flux.
To view a full list of panelists for this morning’s hearing, click here. Prepared remarks should also be available later today. Check back this afternoon for updates.
(Image: Cover of the FY2013 Independent Budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs.)
