"The Veterans Health Care Funding Guarantee Act legislation would guarantee adequate annual funding for health care for all sick and disabled veterans eligible to receive treatment," said Senator Collins. "Our veterans have served us well, and I am dedicated to honoring that service and the sacrifices involved by ensuring their needs are met." This legislation requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make funds available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for programs, functions, and activities of the Veterans Health Administration for a fixed percentage starting in the next fiscal year, FY'04. This percentage will be more than twenty percent higher than the amount of funding allocated to the VA this year. The percentage increase in Veterans Affairs funding provided after FY'04 will be determined by a formula that adjusts for inflation based on the consumer price index and growth in the number of veterans enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration health care system.
The American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, and Veterans of Foreign Wars all endorse this bill.