February 11, 2021 – As part of the American Rescue plan presented by President Joe Biden, $15 billion is to go to the Department of Veterans Affairs. This article states, “According to the new legislation, most of the money – $13.5 billion – would go to the VA for veterans’ health care, staffing, suicide prevention, research, and women’s health, as well as expanding telehealth, serving homeless veterans and improving medical facilities.”
$4 billion of the American Rescue Plan will be spent in healthcare in the private sector for veterans and $100 million would go to veterans’ claims for benefits to assist with the backlog of benefits claims which was halted during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reference: Wentling, Nikki, “House VA committee advances $15 billion portions of Biden’s American Rescue Plan”, Stars and Stripes, https://ruiz.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/house-va-committee-advances-15-billion-portion-biden-s-american-rescue-plan