U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

39–012 2005

109th Congress 1st Session – – – – – – – – – – – – – House Document 109–46 

REQUEST FOR FY 2006 BUDGET AMENDMENTS 

COMMUNICATION 

FROM

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRANSMITTING

A REQUEST FOR A FY 2006 BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR THE 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 

JULY 18, 2005.—Referred to the Committee on Appropriations and ordered 

to be printed 


E:\Seals\Congress.#13
(1) 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

Washington, July 14, 2005. 

Hon. J. DENNIS HASTERT, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives, 

Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. SPEAKER: My Administration is committed to ensuring 

that our Nation’s veterans continue to receive timely and highquality health care. To this end, I ask the Congress to consider the 

enclosed $1.977 billion FY 2006 budget amendment for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). I am requesting these resources to 

cover the expected increased costs in FY 2006 that VA will experience in its medical care budget. 

The details of this proposal are set forth in the enclosed letter 

from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. 

Sincerely, 

GEORGE W. BUSH. 

(3) 

[Estimate No. 8, 109th Cong., 1st Sess.] 

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, 

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, 

Washington, DC, July 14, 2005. 

The PRESIDENT, The White House. 

Submitted for your consideration is a request for a $1.977 billion 

FY 2006 budget amendment for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical care budget. The discretionary budget authority 

proposed in your FY 2006 Budget would be increased by this 

amount. With this amendment, discretionary spending proposed in 

your Budget would grow by 2.3 percent, less than the expected rate 

of inflation, and non-security discretionary spending would be held 

below the FY 2005 level. 

The VA has recently determined that due to unanticipated 

growth in the number of patients using the VA health care system 

and the increased cost per patient of providing this care, the FY 

2005 enacted budget and the FY 2006 proposed budget include insufficient funding. On June 28, 2005, Secretary Nicholson informed 

the Congress of additional needs for the VA medical care system. 

On June 30, 2005, you submitted a $975 million supplemental request to Congress to address FY 2005 needs. In that supplemental 

request you indicated that the Administration would be submitting 

a budget amendment for FY 2006. 

The details of this FY 2006 request and how the request relates 

to the FY 2005 supplemental funding request that was transmitted 

to the Congress on June 30, 2005, are described below. 

FY 2005 supplemental 

• The FY 2005 supplemental for VA medical care proposed a $975 million increase for VA to cover a 2.9 percent unexpected increase in the number of patients in 2005. VA predicted a 2.3 percent increase in patients and now predicts that number to be 5.2 

percent. 

FY 2006 budget amendment 

The components of the amendment are: 

• An additional $300 million to meet FY 2005 needs. The supplemental covered the increased cost for the additional number of new 

patients. However, new VA data indicate that the average cost per 

patient in the entire system has increased by one percent because 

of the increasing number of visits per patient and the complexity 

of their conditions. The President’s original budget assumed that 

VA would carry over funding from FY 2005 to meet FY 2006 needs, 

but now $300 million of that expected carryover will be used for the 

re-estimated FY 2005 needs. The FY 2006 budget amendment will 

cover the loss of this expected carryover. 

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• A $677 million increase for VA to cover an estimated 2.0 percent increase in the number of patients expected to seek care in FY 

2006. The President’s Budget assumed 5.2 million patients in FY 

2006 and VA now predicts this number to be 5.3 million patients. • A $400 million increase to recognize that the average cost per 

patient in the entire system will continue to grow in FY 2006 to 

1.2 percent more than expected. • A $600 million upward revision to correct for the estimated 

cost of long-term care. 

Recommendation 

I have carefully reviewed this proposal and am satisfied that this 

is necessary at this time. Therefore, I join the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs in recommending that you transmit 

this amendment to the Congress. 

Sincerely, 

JOSHUA B. BOLTEN, Director. 

Enclosures. 

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FY 2006 Budget Amendment 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 

MEDICAL PROGRAMS

MEDICAL SERVICES

FY 2006 Budget Appendix Pages: 893–897 

FY 2006 Pending Request: $22,377,141,000 (includes two legislative fee proposals) 

Proposed Amendment: $1,977,000,000 

Revised Request: $24,354,141,000 

(In the appropriations language under the above heading, delete 

‘‘$19,789,141,000’’ and substitute ‘‘$21,766,141,000’’.) 

This amendment would increase the resources available to the 

Medical Services Fund to address an increase in the demand and 

cost for VA medical care that began in FY 2005 and will continue 

through FY 2006. 

The request would increase FY 2006 outlays by $1,810,338,900. 

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