According to Rep. Steve Buyer, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, the Administration’s proposed $80.6 billion 2007 VA budget is a good first step, praising President Bush for increasing VA funding. However, he thinks there are chinks in the armor. In particular, he said at a committee hearing on Feb. 8 that he is concerned the VA “track record” indicates it is being “overly optimistic” in projecting it would collect nearly $3 billion from third-party health care insurers. Buyer also expressed concern that the budget proposal calls for annual enrollment fees and higher drug co-pays for veterans who do not have service-related disabilities—both of which failed to gain Congressional support last year.
DNI: Cyber Is The Common Weapon Among Top Adversaries
April 17, 2021
The top four U.S. adversaries—China, Russia, Iran and North Korea—are improving their military capabilities but relying increasingly on cyber means to challenge the U.S. and blunt its influence around the world, the intelligence community's annual threat assessment says. The report comes amid military tensions with both China and Russia.