Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Committee of Veterans' Affairs, and Ranking Member U.S. Senator Larry E.Craig (R-ID), sent a letter to the Appropriations Committee's subcommittee responsible for VA funding, urging a significant increase in the appropriation for VA's Medical and Prosthetic Research Program. The Senators stressed that VA requires increased funds to sustain current research and for VA researchers to continue to make advances for conditions that particularly affect veterans.
Below is an excerpt from a letter than was written in regards to the funding:
We strongly urge the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs to demonstrate this Nation's commitment to its veterans by providing an increase for Fiscal Year 2008 substantially above last year's funding level for VA's Medical and Prosthetic Research Program.
The President's proposed FY08 budget for VA research is $411 million, a $1 million decrease from current funding levels. Adopting the President's VA research budget would result in the direct loss of 193 full-time employees (FTE), impacting VA's ability to effectively respond to the medical needs of veterans. VA requires increased funds just to sustain current research and development program commitments, and to cover inflationary cost increases associated with these commitments. Unfortunately, the President has proposed flatline funding of the VA research budget for a third consecutive year, which would severely impair VA's ability to respond to the changing needs of veterans, young and old.
VA provides the best health care within its means, but research is necessary if we are to enable VA to adapt and improve care. This is of obvious importance as OEF/OIF combat wounded return with complicated injuries such as Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and as veterans of previous wars face an increasing number of age-related health issues. TBI has become the signature wound of the war in Iraq and we must commit the proper resources to deal with and treat all aspects of the injury.
VA health care is the largest health care system in the Nation. In addition to enhancing medical service for veterans, the VA research program's discoveries enhance medical care for all Americans. Past VA research projects have resulted in the first successful liver transplant performed in the U.S., the development of the cardiac pacemaker, as well as theory-building that led to the development of the CT scan. Current research is needed in areas such as colorectal cancer, a common form of cancer of increased concern to aging veterans. Another exciting area of VA research is pharmacogenomics, a branch of genome medicine, which involves customizing drug treatment based on an analysis of the patient's DNA. Research in this area has already shown how variations in a person's DNA can affect their response to medications. Future VA research can be expected to lead to other groundbreaking innovations, as long as the program has the funding to get the job done. Contact
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Every 21 seconds, one person in the US sustains a Traumatic Brain Injury.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) costs the country more than $48 billion a year, and between 2.5 and 6.5 million Americans alive today have had a TBI. Survivors of TBI are often left with significant cognitive, behavioral, and communicative disabilities, and some patients develop long-term medical complications, such as epilepsy.
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