Enrolled SJR 11: Supporting federal funding for veterans' health care and urging the United States Congress to ensure adequate funding for veterans' health care.
00Enrolled SJR 11 01 Supporting federal funding for veterans' health care and urging the United States Congress to 02 ensure adequate funding for veterans' health care. 03 _______________ 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 WHEREAS the United States Department of Veterans Affairs provides medical care 06 for veterans who have risked their lives to protect the security of the nation; and 07 WHEREAS the United States Department of Veterans Affairs has the largest 08 integrated health care system in the United States; and 09 WHEREAS the missions of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs include 10 providing health care to veterans, educating and training health care personnel, conducting 11 medical research, serving as backup to the United States Department of Defense, and 12 supporting communities in times of crisis; and 13 WHEREAS the United States Department of Veterans Affairs provides a wide range 14 of specialized services to meet the unique needs of veterans, including treatment and care for 15 spinal cord injury, blindness, traumatic brain injury, post traumatic stress disorder, amputation 16 injuries, mental health and substance abuse, and conditions requiring long-term care; and 17 WHEREAS federal discretionary funding for veterans' health care is controlled by the
01 executive branch and Congress through the budget and appropriation process; and 02 WHEREAS the United States Government Accountability Office report in 2005 03 highlighted the lack of resources and staffing available to the United States Department of 04 Veterans Affairs for processing an increasing backlog of veterans' claims; and 05 WHEREAS discretionary funding for the United States Department of Veterans 06 Affairs lags behind both medical inflation and the increased demands for services; for 07 example, the enrollment for veterans' health care increased 134 percent between fiscal years 08 and 2004, but funding only increased 34 percent during the same period when adjusted 09 to 1996 dollars; and 10 WHEREAS former United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi has 11 publicly stated that the United States Department of Veterans Affairs has been struggling to 12 provide health care to the rapidly rising number of veterans who require health care; 13 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature expresses its profound gratitude 14 for the sacrifices made by veterans who suffer from medical or mental problems resulting 15 from injuries that occurred while serving in the United States Armed Forces; and be it 16 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 17 Congress to ensure adequate funding for veterans' health care. 18 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President 19 of the United States; the Honorable Richard B. Cheney, Vice-President of the United States 20 and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable James B. Peake, M.D., United States 21 Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Lisa 22 Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of 23 the Alaska Delegation in Congress; and to all other members of the 110th United States 24 Congress.