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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Barela
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
3/08/2007
HM 79
SHORT TITLE Fully Fund Veteran Health Care Services
SB
ANALYST Schuss
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
NFI
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates to House Memorial 76
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Memorial 79 requests that Congress fund veterans’ health care services fully.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
House Memorial 79 states that the Federal Department of Veterans Affairs’ mission and motto is
“to care for him who has borne the battle, and for his widow and orphan" and President George
Washington stated, “The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war,
no matter how justified, shall be directly proportionate to how they perceive the veterans of
earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country". Whenever the United States Military
has been called upon to send forces into harm’s way, including sons and daughters of our great
state, they have proudly answered the call and we, as United States citizens, have promised our
troops through military enlistment contracts comprehensive, quality accessible health care for
those veterans honorably discharged from the United States Military, past, present and future.
Although the legislative bodies of our government at all levels have recognized the importance
of supporting those who serve our great country, legislation itself has fallen short of meeting the
health care needs of our veterans. The current discretionary funding mechanisms for veterans’
health care is beset by numerous flaws, preventing many veterans from receiving the quality
pg_0002
House Memorial 79 – Page
2
health care they earned and deserve. March 16, 2006, the United States Senate voted down
mandatory funding for veterans’ health care services that would have insured mandatory funding
for our veterans’ health care needs. A Federal Government accountability office report in 2005
highlighted the lack of resources experienced by the Federal Veterans Health Administration and
its understaffed workforce as they attempt to process an increasing backlog of our veterans’
claims. Anthony Principi, former Federal Secretary of Veterans Affairs, has publicly stated that
the Department of Veterans Affairs has been struggling to provide promised health care services
to the rapidly rising number of veterans requiring health care services.
The House of Representatives of the State of New Mexico requests that its members, as proud
citizens of this great nation, fully support mandatory funding for veterans’ health care services.
HM 79 also requests that the United States House of Representatives and the United States
Senate be requested to ensure that the health care obligations to our veterans be recognized and
that legislation be introduced and passed for signing by the President of the United States to
guarantee full mandatory funding of veterans’ health care services.
BS/mt