Budget Proposal

Executive Summary

The Veteran Benefits Administration (VBA) provides financial and other kinds of assistance to veterans, servicemembers, and their families. Over the past few years, the demand for these services has increased resulting in the need for expansion of this agency. VBA needs to expand across all its program offices including the Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E). VR&E expansion will involve creating a new office to improve the operational capability of the department in meeting the growing demand. Expansion of the organization through a new office would help address current issues in workload management, meet the increased demand for services, and improve effectiveness and efficiency across all operations.

The proposed budget for the expansion incorporates two major components i.e. capital expenses and operating costs. Capital expenses refer to expenditures for the purchase of fixed assets like a new building or office equipment, upgrades to current facilities, and the purchase of intangible assets like patents. Operating costs are expenditures incurred for the regular day-to-day operations and activities of an organization or business. For VR&E, capital expenses for the expansion amount to $1,012,500 while the operating costs are $470,200. These costs would play an important role in enhancing the capability of VR&E to provide critical public services to veterans, servicemembers, and their dependents.

To effectively implement the proposed budget, VBAs senior leadership should mobilize for funds in order to minimize any interruptions to current projects and operations. Secondly, the departments leadership should implement the proposed budget as part of strategic planning and management effort. This would ensure each component of the budget is implemented systematically and strategically. Third, budget appropriations and allocations for the expansion process should not be exceeded.

Budget Proposal

The Veteran Benefits Administration (VBA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that provides financial and other kinds of assistance to veterans, servicemembers, and their families. Since its inception, VBA has continued to play a critical role in providing necessary help to veterans, their dependents, and survivors. As the demand for assistance continues to increase, VBA is expanding. The agency seeks to expand across all its major program offices including the Veteran Readiness and Employment (formerly known as Vocational Readiness and Employment). The expansion of VR&E department will entail creating a new office to enhance its operational capability in light of the increased demand for services and benefits by veterans, servicemembers, and their families. This budget proposal shows the costs of the expansion of this department office and the reasons for it.

Justification for the Expansion

VR&E department helps performance of VR&E. These measures have focused on improved performance management, staff training, and workload management (Bertoni, 2014). However, weaknesses still exist, especially in workload management. The department is still experiencing issues in workplace accommodations and job placement assistance. VR&E offices are faced with heavy workloads as staff allocation formula does not consider other staff duties that affect workloads.

Based on the current situation at the VR&E department regarding heavy workloads, the department faces the need for expansion to enhance its operations. The establishment of a new office and hiring additional staff would help the department to improve effectiveness and efficiency across all its operations. A new office would help lessen the heavy...

…for the new department is enhanced management of the heavy workloads. As previously indicated, the demand for services and benefits offered by this department has increased. Consequently, the current workforce faces heavy workloads brought by the increased demand. Hiring additional staff for the new department office would help improve management of the heavy workloads. The other benefit is improved efficiency and effectiveness in providing services to the targeted population. Better management of the heavy workloads will contribute to improved efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery to veterans, servicemembers, and their dependents. Improved management of heavy workloads will help in the current program enhancements at VR&E to meet the increased demands for services and benefits.

Recommendations for Budget Implementation

The implementation of this budget would require some considerations to ensure the expansion does not affect current operations and adequate financial resources are available. The Veteran Benefits Administration needs to consider various factors for the effective implementation of the budget. One of the recommendations in the budget implementation process is mobilizing funds to help achieve the goals and objectives of the proposed expansion. Funds mobilization is essential to ensure that the expansion process does not interfere with current projects undertaken by the department. Secondly, the budget implementation process requires strategic planning and management. VBA should carry out the expansion process and budget implementation as part of strategic planning. This would imply quantifying the budget components into different segments that are implemented systematically. The strategic planning process would entail conducting formal and informal needs assessment (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003). The assessment process would help identify and prioritize needs with regards to the systematic allocation of resources for the key budget components. Third, the senior leadership should ensure budget allocations and appropriations for the proposed expansion initiative are not exceeded in order to ensure compliance…