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Obama to sign advance VA funding bill Thursday

Veterans advocacy groups will see several years of work come to fruition Thursday afternoon when President Barack Obama signs into law a bill that would provide funding for the Veterans Affairs Department one year in advance.

The Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act aims to protect veterans medical programs from interruptions in funding when Congress is late passing a budget bill — as it has been for 20 of the last 23 years. Obama is expected to sign the bill at a 2:15 p.m. ceremony at the White House.

Advance funding for medical services, facilities and research programs takes effect with the fiscal 2011 budget, assuming Congress provides promised money in the 2010 budget that also covers those programs for 2011.

To ensure enough money is provided in advance, Congress approved a mechanism for the advance budget requiring VA to provide an estimate that is reviewed for accuracy by the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan arm of Congress. A copy of the review will be made available to the public, which is why the word “transparency” is included in the bill’s name.