Unofficial Copy As of 04/11/06 06 Reg. Sess. 06 Rs Br 2731

UNOFFICIAL COPY AS OF 05/07/18 06 REG. SESS. 06 RS BR 2731

A RESOLUTION urging the United States Congress to enact legislation requiring mandatory funding of veterans' health care programs. WHEREAS, funding for veterans' health care services should be a top priority for Congress as a necessary and continuing cost of our national defense; and WHEREAS, each year the level of dollars appropriated by Congress falls short of what is necessary to meet the needs of sick and disabled veterans; and WHEREAS, this funding crisis for veterans' health care programs is caused largely by the current discretionary funding method used to appropriate funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs; and WHEREAS, under the discretionary funding method, funding for veterans' health care is determined by political processes, and is based more on political considerations than actual funding needs; and WHEREAS, the lack of a consistent and reliable budget process has prevented the Department of Veterans Affairs from adequately planning for and meeting the growing needs of veterans seeking health care services; and WHEREAS, if the veterans' medical care system is to be maintained as a top government priority, its funding must be mandatory to remove the medical care system from competition with politically popular but less meritorious projects and programs; and WHEREAS, making veterans' health care funding mandatory would eliminate the year-to-year uncertainty about funding levels that has prevented the Department of Veterans Affairs from being able to adequately plan for and meet the growing needs of veterans seeking medical treatment; NOW, THEREFORE, Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: Section 1. The Congress of the United States is urged to enact legislation to require mandatory funding of veterans' health care programs. Current legislation pending

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in Congress which would accomplish this goal may be found in S.331 and H.R.515. Section 2. The Clerk of the House of Representatives is directed to send copies of this Resolution to each member of the Kentucky delegation to the Congress of the United States, a copy to the Clerk of the United States Senate, and a copy to the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.

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