Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 3449 - Veterans Health-Care Amendments of 1987

(House)
(Montgomery (D) Mississippi)

The administration opposes H.R. 3449, mainly because:

— Section 10, which would triple the income threshold for eligibility for domiciliary care to a level of $15,195 annually (equivalent to the income of 45 percent of all single men in the country), is inconsistent with the longstanding requirement of domiciliary eligibility — that the individual be incapacitated from earning a living and have no adequate means of support.

— Section 9 would severely restrict VA's flexibility to provide for medical center support services economically and efficiently by requiring that there always be at least two bidders before VA can contract out for such services under OMB Circular A-76.

— Section 1, which would authorize VA to set pay rates for its pharmacists and occupational therapists and to appoint them without regard to civil service laws, is unwarranted and would not, by itself, enhance recruitment and retention of such personnel.

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