An official in the office of Veterans Affairs today said during a meeting at the White House that the VA is preparing for “leaner times” in the wake of the GOP takeover of the house last Tuesday.
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Obama’s 2011 budget, which has yet to be approved, calls for more than $60 billion for the VA, an increase from 2010’s $56 billion VA budget. But a new Republican majority in the House, elected on a host of anti-spending platforms, could try to clip that amount down significantly.
Currently, the VA has plans to drastically cut veteran homelessness—from 107,000 people to 59,000 people by 2012—and to ramp up their comprehensive medical care for ex-servicemen and women. Budget cuts would hamper both of those initiatives.
“The VA enjoys bipartisan support more so than any other department,” the official said. “It’s fairly non-controversial. But still, budgets are getting tight.”
-Cord Jefferson is a staff writer at The Root. Follow him on Twitter.
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