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Michaud Praises Passage of Historic VA Funding Bill

Bill also includes $28 million in funding for the replacement of maintenance hangers for the Air National Guard in Bangor

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congressman Mike Michaud, Chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health, praised House passage of the fiscal year 2010 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill.  In addition to funding the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care services in fiscal year 2010, the bill also contains funding for 2011.  This "advance funding" is something that Michaud has been pushing for years so that funding for veterans' health care is timely and reliable.  He successfully passed a bill (H.R. 1016, the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act) through the House that he helped to introduce earlier this year that would accomplish this goal.

"Passage of this funding bill in the House today represents a huge step forward for veterans' health care," said Michaud.  "For the first time ever, the VA will receive advanced funding for health care services.  This will ensure that health care benefits are delivered in the most efficient and effective way to our veterans.  Togus VA Medical Center in Augusta will benefit from this legislation because it would allow them to better plan, expand and ultimately improve health care for our veterans in Maine."

With passage of this bill, Congress has provided a 58 percent increase in funding for veterans health care and benefits since January 2007.  This funding has resulted in a total increase of 8,300 claims processors, 145 community-based outpatient clinics, 70 Vet Centers, and more than 47,000 additional Veterans Health Administration employees. These additional resources will provide veterans with their benefits more quickly and improve access to health care and other services. 

In addition to funding for the VA, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill also included funding for military construction, including important projects in Maine:

  • $28 million in funding for the replacement of maintenance hangers for the Air National Guard in Bangor
  • $9,090,000 for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for security improvements and the consolidation of structural shops.

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