Navigation Budget Increases Proposed for VA
The White House has announced the proposed budget for fiscal year 2024. In this proposed budget are several items that are important to Veterans. First, the budget proposes an increase to the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund. This is part of the PACT Act, which expands health care and benefits for toxic-exposed Veterans (I THINK by this time most Veterans have heard about the PACT ACT -if you haven’t, please give me a call! 😊) The PACT Act expanded VA health care and benefits to millions of Veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxins. The budget requests $20.3 billion in 2024, which is $15.3 billion above 2023. This money will be used for health care, research and benefits associated with exposure to environmental hazards for Veterans and their survivors.
The 2024 Budget also invests in preventing Veteran suicide. Secretary McDonough says that suicide prevention is VA’s top clinical priority. The budget requests $16.6 billion in 2024 for mental health efforts, including suicide prevention. As a part of that, the budget includes $559 million for Veteran suicide prevention outreach programs and an estimated $2.5 billion in suicide-specific medical treatment.
