Obama signs VA advance funding bill

President Barack Obama signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act in an Oct. 22 ceremony at the White House. The new law, strongly supported by The American Legion, requires advance funding for the VA health-care system.

\”We have made the biggest commitment to veterans, the largest percent increase in the VA budget, in more than 30 years,\” Obama said. \”So we’re keeping our promise to make real progress for our vets.\”

In short, the president said, VA advance funding \”promotes accountability at the VA, it ensures oversight by Congress … And it ensures that veterans health care will no longer be held hostage to the annual budget battles in Washington.\”

The president made his remarks in the East Room of the White House, joined by VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the bill’s sponsor.