The Department of Veterans Affairs has called for $78.7 billion in discretionary budget for the fiscal year 2017, up 4.9 percent from the fiscal 2016 level.
Deltek said Tuesday VA plans to increase funding under FY 2017 for projects that aim to bolster veterans’ benefits programs, reduce claims backlog, expand healthcare access, broaden mental health services, streamline the appeals process and beef up cybersecurity.
The request asked for $7.2 billion in discretionary funds for the Care in the Community program to support medical procedures for veterans.
The agency also requested $4.4 billion for information technology initiatives and seeks a $128 million increase in cybersecurity funding.
VA wants to invest in information security and network resilience, the Improved Veterans Experience program and VistA evolution and interoperability.