Calling it the "brink of disaster" for veterans' health care and benefits, the Veterans of Foreign Wars has gone on record opposing the President's budget request for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

According to the VFW, if the budget is passed: 220,000 veterans would stop receiving treatment for their injuries and disabilities at VA hospitals.

28,000 fewer veterans would receive long-term care in nursing homes, and funding would be eliminated for construction of care facilities throughout the country.

Waiting times for health care would skyrocket because VA would not have enough funding to provide care.

Funding for prosthetic research would be slashed by $9 million.

Over 3,000 health care workers would be eliminated.

700 veterans benefits staff positions would be cut.

Hundreds of thousands of veterans would have to pay hundreds of extra dollars out of pocket because of enrollment fees and increased co-payments. The four-tenths of a percent increase in medical care would be less than the required increase in salaries for VA employees.

VA would be forced to collect more money from veterans and from their insurance companies to make up for the funding shortfall.