President Bush's release of his $3 trillion budget yesterday included a number of veterans' and military-related provisions. Here's a few of particular interest:
Pay Increase:
For 2009 the new budget seeks a 3.4 percent pay raise for current active duty service members. As the Military Times reports this is the minimum raise allowed under federal law--and some advocates are displeased with the projected numbers. Here's the paper's rundown of sample salaries for the troops in 2009:
- An E-4 with more than three years of service now earns $1,949.10
per month; that would rise to $2,015.40 per month on Jan. 1 under the
Pentagon plan.
- An E-7 with more than 10 years of service now
earns $3,263.10 per month; a 3.4 percent raise would turn that into
$3,374.10 per month.
- An O-3 with more than six years of service
now earns $4,763.10 per month; that officer would earn $4,925.10 per
month with a 3.4 percent pay increase.
A Hospital
Veterans in the Orlando, FL area are speaking out against what they perceive as the proposed budget's lack of funds for a local VA hospital. As the Orlando Sentinel reports:
President Bush put $120 million in his proposed budget Monday for the
long-awaited Orlando VA hospital, but area veterans said they were
disappointed that more of the nearly $600 million needed will not come
right away. Michael Kussman, undersecretary of health at the Department of Veterans
Affairs, said $120 million is all the agency needs this year to begin
work on the facility...But area veterans are not so trusting after waiting years for a
hospital. Orlando is the largest metropolitan area in the country
without a VA hospital, forcing veterans to drive to Tampa or
Gainesville for care.
"What a disappointment," said retired Air Force Col. Joseph Kittinger,
a decorated veteran. "All of the politicians give lip service to the
veterans, but that is all it is, lip service." He added, though, that
the $120 million "is a start and better than nothing."
Long-term
The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America took a long-term look at where it sees facets of the budget allocated for veterans ultimately ending up.
For veterans, the 2009 budget provides $47 billion in funding for
veterans’ health care, benefits, and other services. This reflects a
modest increase over 2008 levels. However, starting in 2010, the budget predicts sudden (and unrealistic) drops in costs for veterans’ care.
The administration’s argument is that the deaths of earlier generations
of veterans will reduce expenses, but this line of reasoning fails to
account for the dramatic increase in the cost of caring for Iraq and
Afghanistan veterans. This will push future budget expenditures up, not
down. Like the budget as a whole, the long-term accounting in the VA
budget is improbable.
Defense Budget
For the defense budget itself, USA Today provides a good summary of highlights covering where the money is intended to go:
•Increasing the size of the Army and Marine
Corps: $20.5 billion, an increase of $8.7 billion or 73%, compared with
2008. This year, the Army would grow to 532,000 soldiers, and the
Marine Corps would increase its ranks to 194,000. By 2012, the plan
would be complete, with the Army topping out at 547,000 soldiers, while
there would be 202,000 members of the Marine Corps.
•Aircraft and weapons: $45.6 billion, a $4.9
billion increase, that would include purchases of fighter planes such
as the F-22A Raptor and F/A-18 Hornet and unmanned aircraft like the
Predator and Reaper.
•Cyberspace security: The budget shows at least
$65 million for research and development projects tied to computer
security. Some elements of the effort are secret, and funding levels
are not disclosed.
•Pay and health care: $149 billion to increase salaries and fund health care. Military salaries would increase by 3.4%.
For an overall political view of how things are shaking out, the Associated Press provides this quick piece on reactions to the budget.
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