Reply #3: that's not its purpose [View All]

* The The Recovery Act provides the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America’s Veterans
o The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) enables the VA to improve medical facilities and national cemeteries, provide grants to assist states in acquiring or constructing state nursing homes and extended care facilities, and to modify or alter existing facilities to care for Veterans.
o VA will dedicate ARRA funds to hire and train 1,500 temporary claims processors to speed benefits delivery to Veterans and pursue needed information technology initiatives for improved benefits and services. Funds will also be used to oversee and audit programs, grants, and projects funded under ARRA.
o As part of the President’s Recovery plan, VA will also make one-time payments of $250 to eligible Veterans and survivors to mitigate the effects of the current economy. These payments will be issued as early as June 2009. VA estimates $700 million in payments will be made to eligible beneficiaries as part of this measure.

The President announced the Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Initiative. Both the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs will work together to define and build a system that will ultimately contain administrative and medical information from the day an individual enters military service throughout their military career, and into the Veteran phase of life.


http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/veterans