House passes military quality of life spending bill

[The Straight Story]

House passes military quality of life spending bill

By Peter Cohn, CongressDaily
The House on Thursday passed a $121.8 billion fiscal 2006 Military Quality of Life-VA spending bill, a newly constituted bill that combines military construction, Pentagon health and housing accounts and the Veterans Affairs Department.

Military Quality of Life-VA Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman James Walsh, R-N.Y., said it allows a comprehensive focus on quality-of-life issues for servicemen and women for the first time since the advent of the all-volunteer force in 1973, and "does so in a fiscally responsible manner."

The measure would provide $85.2 billion in discretionary spending, about $1.1 billion over President Bush's request and $5.9 billion over last year's enacted level. About $1.7 billion of that increase is for the 2005 base realignment and closure account, and other healthy increases are included for Pentagon healthcare and housing programs and veterans' services.

The bill includes $21 billion for veterans' medical services, a $1 billion increase over the president's request and $1.6 billion over last year's enacted level. That represents an 8.5 percent increase over last year and 18.2 percent over the last two years, and sets aside $2.2 billion for specialty mental health care, the first time such care has had its own account.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0505/052605cdpm1.htm

[tk2kewl]

1. MREs to now include Kool-Aid packet

[bemildred]

2. Should just call all of these the "Congressional butt-covering bill"

'cause that's what they are all about.