The next time a president wants to send American troops into action, Congress ought to require a projection of the cost of caring for the veterans of that action over the course of their lives.

As Americans remember their military veterans – those who served in times of war and peace – it should be with some degree of shame at how poorly the nation has cared for its aging warriors. That shame should be especially acute in Maine, a state with one of the highest veteran populations in the U.S., estimated at 140,000 or 16 percent of the total state population.

A Veterans Administration appropriations bill now working its way through Congress begins to take steps toward better care.

The bill, according to Rep. Mike Michaud, represents the largest single increase in the 77-year history of the Veterans Administration, boosting spending $6.6 billion over 2007 levels, and $3.7 billion over President Bush’s request. The funding will create more than 1,800 new claims processors, which Rep. Michaud believes will translate into more timely treatment for 400,000 veterans with backlogged claims. Also included is $125 million to increase the travel reimbursement rate for veterans, so they will get 28.5 cents per mile driven, up from 11 cents per mile, a key provision for veterans living in a state like Maine, where they may have to drive 200 miles to get care at the Togus health care facility in Augusta.

In addition to the higher mileage reimbursement, Rep. Michaud’s office is calling attention to a new model of veterans health care for rural states like Maine. Funding secured in 2006 allows states to create community-based outpatient clinics, where veterans can seek care instead of driving to Togus. One of these clinics has opened in Lincoln, allowing veterans to see a physician there one day a week. Plans have been submitted to the VA for clinics in Dover-Foxcroft, Houlton and Lewiston-Auburn, which are expected to open soon. A sensible next step would be to allow vets to see their primary care physician in their hometown, and be reimbursed, but that is another battle.

Rep. Michaud, who is chairman of the health subcommittee of the Veterans Affairs Committee, also touts the bill’s inclusion of funds for veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, mental health issues and lost limbs.

The VA health care system will be stressed in coming years as baby boomer vets approach senior citizen age. And the needs of veterans of the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan also will soon be felt. Early diagnosis and treatment, a principle that yields results in all sectors of health care, ought to be the goal of care for veterans as well, because it will ultimately save the public money, and because it is the right thing to do.