From:  Bruce G. Nitsche, Veterans Liaison to the Secretary      06/15/2004

Some of you have been getting questions about stories on VA budget cuts. I refer you to the Secretary's response to that question at the end of this article. The following is from an interview yesterday at the Wheelchair Games.

Bruce G. Nitsche
bruce.nitsche@mail.va.gov

VA Chief Sees No Letup In Health Care Demand
By Harry Levins
Post-Dispatch Senior Writer    06/15/2004

Despite the passing of the World War II generation, the secretary of veterans affairs said here Monday that his agency would get no demographic breathing room.

"The demand for health care will continue to grow," said Secretary Anthony J. Principi. He was in town to help kick off the 24th annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games, which have drawn about 500 disabled athletes to St. Louis. The event starts today and runs through Saturday.

Principi noted in an interview that about three-quarters of the 16 million Americans who wore a uniform in World War II had died. "We're losing about 1,800 a day now," he said, "and that will increase each year as the Korean War veterans age."

But coming along behind those older veterans is Principi's own Vietnam-era generation, about 7 million strong. "There will be no breather," said Principi, a naval officer in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Aide Jim Benson added that the Vietnam vets had a longer life expectancy than their World War II counterparts and thus would need even more care.

Veterans groups like the American Legion have been leaning on the federal government to make financing for veterans' health care automatic, like financing for Medicare and Social Security. Now, Congress and the president must approve a figure each year - a process that Legion spokesman Steve Thomas of Washington called "a discretionary nightmare."

Principi said the question deserved study. But he said the discretionary system was working.

"I'm proud of the financial support I've had from the president and Congress," he said. "The health care budget is up 40 percent in the three years I've had this job," to about $26 billion a year.

Principi suggested that automatic financing could turn sour down the road.

"One issue of concern would have to be the rapid decline in the veteran population after the year 2012," Principi said. Today, the United States has about 25 million veterans. "But that will drop to the high teens in the next decade," he said.

In that light, Principi said: "Relieving the president and Congress of responsibility could have adverse consequences. Are we going to be just another mandated insurance program like Medicare? And if so, what would that mean in 2012? Would people say, 'Merge it with Medicare'?"

The New York Times says the Office of Management and Budget has told Principi's department to brace for $900 million in budget cuts in the fiscal year that starts in October 2005.

Principi dismissed the report. "I have no information on any $900 million hit," he said. "When I took office, our budget was $48 billion. Now, it's $64 billion. The president has increased it dramatically, and I think he'll continue to do so."

Reporter Harry Levins
E-mail: hlevins@post-dispatch.com
Phone: 314-340-8144