We all want to help American #veterans, and if the 2024 fiscal year budget debate was any indication, the belief is that money will fix the problems. History has indicated, however, that budget increases will not solve the main issues facing American veterans. 

In the past 15 years, over 75,000 veterans have taken their own lives. Compare that to the roughly 7,000 that have last their lives in combat over the past two decades. These numbers make it clear that there is an epidemic facing our veterans. Something must be done to address the mental health and suicide rate of Americans who have fought to keep our freedoms alive. Once returning home, these veterans face difficulties entering into society, and are then faced with reconciling all they have seen while serving in the armed forces. 

While many argue that increased funding for the VA is the answer to the soaring rate of veteran suicide, previous numbers would indicate that the money is not the issue. Since 2005, the funding for VA programs to prevent veteran suicide have doubled without any significant decrease in the number of veteran suicides. 

The massive funding increase in the 2024 fiscal year #budget is not an answer to the problems that are facing veterans. To increase the budget would simply be funding programs, with taxpayer's money, that are insufficient to the needs of veterans. It is clear that what is currently in place in the VA for approaching this crucial veteran issue is not making a dent in the difficulties facing todays veterans.

Continual increases to the VA budget that do not result in tangible positive results for veterans cannot be continued. With the 2024 VA budget, Veterans Affairs becomes the second-largest government agency, second only to the Department of Defense. Further budget increases are an attempt to put a money band-aid on a wound that money cannot fix.