The Senate voted yesterday to spend an extra $1.5 billion on veterans' health care this year, as the Bush administration agreed to ask Congress for more money to cover an embarrassing shortfall.

The 96-0 vote came after the Veterans Affairs Department announced last week that its health-care costs had risen faster than expected, forcing the department to shift money among accounts to cover the shortage.

Just Tuesday, the department had insisted it could deal with the shortage without asking for more dollars.

The administration's request also came after demands from Democrats that majority Republicans take care of veterans who are returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said: "This is just the latest example of how poorly the administration planned for and prepared this nation for what would be required in Iraq and the war on terror"...

The Senate ... added its $1.5 billion proposal to a spending bill for fiscal 2006, which begins Oct. 1. "It was a frustration to me and an embarrassment," said Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee chairman Larry Craig (R., Idaho).

House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Steve Buyer (R., Ind.) said lawmakers could move ahead on a spending bill this week. It was unclear how the GOP would fit the money into its already established budget, but Republicans said they would find a way.

Democrats pushed repeatedly this spring to add billions to the veterans' health-care programs, urging Republicans to heed signals that money was running short. Republicans batted down those efforts with assurances from the VA that it did not need more this year. Then the VA told lawmakers last week that veterans were requiring more health care than expected this year, creating a $1 billion hole in the health budget.

"We were in error," said Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.). "I am not happy that we were put in a position to vote against an amendment that we now find out was needed, but we got bad information."

This year's shortfall stems mostly from an unexpected increase in health-care demands from veterans of all ages and eras. The budget also failed to account for an increasing number of veterans returning from the fight against terrorism.

By Mary Dalrymple, AP, Philadelphia Inquirer, Jun 30, 2005