Noteboom The Law Firm

Cuts to VA Claims Processing & IT Departments in 2011 Budget

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) budget for 2011 is passing through the House of Representatives. Although it is 6% more than the 2010 budget, strategic cuts were made to various VA programs and departments.

One of the departments that will face a reduced budget is the claims processing department, but two other major components of the VA suffering the same fate are the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and the VA's information technology (IT) department.

The VBA will need to operate with $12 million less than they did last year, and the VA IT department's budget is more than 5% lower than where it was last year, and will be limited to a little more than $3 billion. Not unexpected, the cuts made to the IT department were made because of the amount of failed programs canceled over the last year, according to the House Appropriations Committee.

President Obama also authorized a 2-year federal pay freeze that went into effect in January. Accordingly, budgets are cut and minimized to accommodate not having to fund raises over the year. As a direct result of the pay freeze, the House bill was able to cut $34 million from the VA's budget for medical support and another $15 million from the VA budget for medical facilities.