Among Democrats lobbying President Bush before the Administration releases the 2007 budget proposal are Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) the ranking member of the Veterans Affairs Committee. They want to ensure there is no repeat of last year’s VA budget snafu. They wrote: “With tens of thousands of servicemembers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of who will return home this year, each of us has a responsibility to ensure that the VA health care system receives full appropriated funding.” Lawmakers had to fix a VA funding shortfall last year, so the Senators suggest, “We must learn a lesson from this experience.”
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.