Senate Approves Funds for Veterans

WASHINGTON — The Senate approved $1.5 billion in additional spending Friday for veterans’ healthcare programs strained by seriously wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

By a vote of 99 to 1, the Senate approved the emergency funds that were passed by the House on Thursday. The legislation, attached to an unrelated spending bill for environmental programs, now goes to the White House for President Bush’s signature.

The measure would give the Department of Veterans Affairs “full flexibility to fill the coffers that they have been borrowing from,” Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) said.

This fall, Congress is expected to debate a second round of additional veterans healthcare spending that could total $1.5 billion to $2 billion for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1.

“With all of our new veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan every day, this problem is only going to get more severe,” said Sen. Patty Murray, (D-Wash.), who had fought for the added money over the objections of Republicans.

Last month, the Veterans Administration acknowledged a funding shortfall, after insisting that it had adequate resources for hospitals and clinics.

Besides larger-than-anticipated numbers of injured veterans from the Iraq war, the agency said its resources were strained by aging veterans of World War II and wars in Vietnam and Korea.