XXXX Rejected Initial FY08 Budget Resolution, Which Included a Vets’ Funding Hike. XXXX voted against the initial version of the FY 2008 budget resolution, which provided for over $3.5 billion more in funding for Veterans than the Bush Administration’s proposal. Bush’s budget called for $39.6 billion in funding compared to the Democratic plan for $43.1 billion. The budget XXXX opposed included $6.7 billion more for veterans than 2007. [Vote 114, 3/23/07; Vote 172, 5/17/07; Senate Budget Committee, 3/20/07, 5/17/07] XXXX Voted to Allow Veterans’ Health Care Fees to Triple. During debate on the FY 2007 budget resolution, XXXX voted to kill an amendment that eliminated a tripling of fees for veterans in the TRICARE health care program by raising the discretionary spending limit by approximately $10 billion. President Bush’s budget proposal included fee hikes for the military’s TRICARE health program for retirees under 65 and their families and, according to critics, “would double or triple health care premiums for about 3 million military retirees.” [Vote 67, 3/16/06; Washington Post, 3/16/06] XXXX Opposed Mandating Vets’ Health Care Funding. In March 2006, XXXX voted against an amendment to make veterans’ health benefits a mandatory program, spending $104 billion over five years. The funding would have been offset by closing corporate tax loopholes and rolling back the Bush tax cuts for millionaires. [Vote 63, 3/16/06; Reid Press Release, 3/16/06] XXXX Rejected $1.5 Billion for Veterans’ Health Care. During debate on the FY 2007 budget resolution, XXXX voted to kill an amendment that would have closed corporate tax loopholes in order to increase veterans’ health care funding by $1.5 billion. [Vote 41, 3/14/06; Spokesman-Review, 3/15/06] XXXX Voted Against Prioritizing Veterans’ Health Care Over Millionaire Tax Cuts. In February 2006, XXXX voted against a motion to instruct conferees on the 2006 tax cut package to insist that the conference report include funding to support health needs of veterans and military personnel in lieu of an extension of tax breaks for millionaires. The motion’s sponsor explained that the money saved by rolling back tax cuts for just 0.2% of all taxpayers could be used to pay for veterans’ health care and disability payments for veterans. [Vote 15, 2/13/06; Dodd Floor Speech, 2/13/06] XXXX Voted Against $19 Billion Hike in Veterans’ Health Care Funding. In February 2006, XXXX voted against an amendment that would have provided at least $19 billion for military and veterans hospitals, to be offset by rolling back tax cuts for millionaires. According to an official from the American Legion, the proposed funding “acknowledges the need for adequate funding to ensure our nation’s veterans receive the healthcare and other benefits to which they are entitled.” [Vote 7, 2/2/06; Dodd Floor Speech, 2/2/06] XXXX Was a Johnny-Come-Lately on Veterans Health Care. In 2005, after consistently ignoring warnings about budget shortfalls in Veterans health care and voting against funding for those programs, XXXX voted for an amendment to add $1.5 billion in supplemental funding to the Department of Veterans Affairs. In the next vote, XXXX voted for passage of the underlying amendment to which $1.5 billion had been added. [AP, 6/28/05; U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs Press Release, 6/23/05; Office of Sen. Patty Murray; Vote 89, 4/12/05; Vote 90, 4/12/05; Vote 165, 6/29/05; Vote 166, 6/29/05] XXXX Voted for Interior, IHS, Forest Service, Veterans Funding. In 2005, XXXX voted for a bill that would provide $26.3 billion in fiscal 2006 for the Department of Interior and related agencies, including $9.9 billion for the Interior Department and $7.8 billion for the EPA. It would provide $4.1 billion for the Forest Service, $1.8 billion for the Bureau of Land Management and $3.2 billion for the Indian Health Service. It also would provide $1.5 billion in emergency fiscal 2005 funding for medical services provided by the Veterans Affairs Administration. [HR 2361, Vote 168, 6/29/05] XXXX Rejected $500 Million a Year for Vets’ Mental Health Care. In November 2005, XXXX killed a proposal to provide an additional $500 million a year over five years for veterans’ mental health services, to be offset by rolling back tax cuts for millionaires. [Vote 343, 11/17/05] 310