NAVAPD has joined with Friends of VA and signed a letter to Congress asking them to reject cuts to the appropriations for Non-Defense Discretionary funding as we believe these cuts will have a direct impact on research into veteran’s healthcare and ultimately healthcare delivery to veterans.  NAVAPD believe these cuts are wrong and potentially dangerous and we also urge Congress to reject these cuts.

Non-Defense Discretionary (NDD) programs comprise domestic and international programs outside of national defense that Congress funds on an annual basis. These programs are called “discretionary” because policymakers have the legal discretion to decide their funding levels each year through the appropriations process. This is distinctly different than other entitlements and other “mandatory” programs where funding is determined by the underlying law governing the program. Medical care for veterans falls under Non-Defense Discretionary spending.

Non-Defense appropriations are a small part of the Federal Budget. They comprise less than one-seventh of the annual Federal Budget, yet these appropriations fund a wide range of important programs and services that make the country run.  Some examples of programs funded through the NDD programs include: scientific and medical research, medical care for veterans, environmental protections, assistance with housing and child care for low-income families, rural development, support for K-12 education and skills training, financial aid for college students, infrastructure investments in things like sewage treatment, safe drinking water, flood control and navigation improvements, diplomacy, law enforcement and courts, assistance for small businesses, air traffic control, weather forecasting and warnings, mental health and substance abuse treatment, public health programs.

President Biden’s budget for 2024 proposes important increases in non-defense discretionary appropriations to expand investments in areas such as childcare, K-12 education, low-income housing, environmental protection, financial aid for college students, mental health services, and scientific research. These proposals would continue efforts to reverse the reductions on non-defense appropriations brought about by the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011.

The Budget Control Act of 2011 put into place deep cuts in non-defense appropriations made in 2011, and then set tight caps on both defense and non-defense funding for each of the next ten years. Those caps were gradually raised by a series of bipartisan amendments to the BCA, but their effects remain even though the BCA expired in 2022.

Even with the bipartisan increases, non-defense appropriations under the proposed budget remain below the 2010 level when adjusted for inflation and population growth. Further, when measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the President’s proposed non-defense funding remains below the long-term average over the previous 47 years. President Biden is proposing only a 1.9 percent increase for veteran’s medical care, this percentage is much smaller than in previous years. 

President Biden’s proposed budget contrasts with the approach being urged by many in the Republican majority in the House, who are calling for rolling back overall appropriations to the 2022 level in 2024, with no increases to cover growing costs, increased needs, or new priorities. These policymakers have proposed multi-year statutory caps on appropriations, perhaps more stringent than those set in the Budget Control Act. Arbitrary and deep spending caps are problematic. Setting caps on discretionary spending for multiple years at a time is unwise and very dangerous since it is unrealistic to attempt to anticipate circumstances and needs further into the future. The COVID pandemic has shown us this.  Setting caps on spending would create the potential for serious shortfalls.

NAVAPD also suggests that you contact your Congressional leaders and ask them to reject the proposed cuts to the Non-Defense Discretionary appropriations for the 2024 Federal Budget.