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November 17th, 2005 - - FY 2005 Appropriation……………...…$42.3 billion ($35.108 billion Mandatory)
President’s FY 2006 Request ……….$45.1 billion ($36.625 billion Mandatory)
Committee Recommendation…….... $45.4 billion ($36.995 billion Mandatory)
HIGHLIGHTS
Veterans Medical Care and Benefits:
- Veterans Medical Services are funded at $22.5 billion, $575 million above the budget request and $1.7 billion above FY05. Over the last two years, funding for Veterans medical care has increased by 18%.
- Does not contain additional fees as proposed by the President.`
- Mental Health Services-For the first time ever, $2.2 billion is fenced for specialty mental health care and the bill doubles funding for mental health research.
- Veteran’s Benefits are increased $1.9 billion over last year.
Military Construction:
- Total military construction funding is $6.2 billion, $5.1 billion for active duty construction and $1.1 billion for reserve components.
- $4.0 billion for family housing construction and operations, $223 million above the request to continue the goal of providing adequate housing for our servicemembers and their families.
BRAC:
Base realignment and closure activities are funded at $1.8 billion, $255 million for prior BRAC rounds and $1.5 billion for BRAC 2005.
Other Items:
- Bill requires a comprehensive study on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder focusing on improving mental health research, care, and access to information.
- Includes $50 million for various force protection measures for soldiers stationed in Iraq.
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