Correction: The Right Numbers On the Growth of the VA Budget

In a discusssion of the Veterans Administration (VA) budget on tonight's episode of The Independents, I argued that the VA wasn't lacking for significant budget increases in recent years, and said that the budget for the program had grown from $131 million to $285 million since 2001. The overall argument still stands, but the budget numbers I stated on the show were totally, wildly wrong. In fact, the VA budget has grown from $45 billion in the 2001 fiscal year to  to $150.7 billion in the 2014 fiscal year. I got confused while glancing at my notes during the conversation and provided wrong information. (What can I say? Sometimes I get a little bit excited while on television.) I regret the error. Apologies for blowing it.