Derwinski Has Upbeat Message on VA Budget

Seeking to calm fears of massive funding cuts, the U.S. secretary of veterans affairs assured several thousand disabled soldiers Monday that they can count on more money this year for medical and other needs.

But some among the 5,000 delegates to the 69th national convention of the Disabled American Veterans did not buy Secretary Edward J. Derwinski’s upbeat message.

“He’s a politician,” grumbled Tom Garrett of Las Vegas, 61, a Navy veteran who now uses a wheelchair.

“He talks a lot and makes lot of promises but says nothing. What we want is a firm commitment that the government is going to honor its commitment to us and take care of our needs.”

Likewise, the chief spokesman for Rep. G. V. (Sonny) Montgomery (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Veteran Affairs committee, said the secretary’s comments may give an overly optimistic picture of the current budget talks between congressional leaders and the Bush Administration, which has recommended a $1-billion increase in funds for veterans.

“No one knows for certain what’s going to happen,” committee aide Jim Holley said in an interview. “The holdup now is the budget summit, but we’ve already been instructed (by congressional leaders) to get ready for a half-billion dollars in veterans’ cuts--and that’s a minimum figure.”

Derwinski acknowledged in his talk that “I have not seen in my 32 years in Washington a situation as complicated and as difficult as the budget problem they’re struggling with in Washington. Now we are the innocent victims--we the VA budget and, therefore, the veterans.”

But he continued: “We were looking forward to a budget increase, we are going to get one, we’re going to have more money this year than we had last year. . . . But the big problem is, do we get enough to cover the rising cost of medicine? That’s the $64 question for us.”

Veterans’ funding was foremost on the minds of many of those attending the Anaheim convention. The VA’s current $30-billion budget provides for medical care, home loan guarantees, life insurance and pensions for veterans and their 51 million dependents and survivors.

Although funding for federal programs has become tighter in recent years, the VA has managed to escape cuts and maintain its funding, officials said. The agency is especially threatened this year, however, some veterans’ leaders said.

They cite a recent General Accounting Office report in which cuts were recommended in money for military personnel who have sustained non-service injuries, and the fact that a VA committee is considering, along with other cost-cutting measures, trimming some marginally disabled veterans from the federal rolls.

The rising cost of medical care and the graying of today’s veterans--those over 75 are expected to number 2.6 million by 1996, nearly double the number today--have also caused some alarm about the security of veterans’ programs.