Keeping Our Promise to Our Nation’s Veterans
‘The bipartisan reform legislation before us builds on the earlier progress of the Veterans Choice Act of 2014, and reaffirms a clear message: Delays at the VA cannot stand between veterans and the medical care they need. The shortcomings of a federal bureaucracy do not ‘free’ our nation from its promises to our all-volunteer armed forces. Veterans deserve prompt, thorough care - period.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the House-passed VA MISSION Act of 2018:
“Today, the Senate will begin considering the VA MISSION Act. It marks a major step forward for the VA system and the millions of heroes who rely on it for services. The bipartisan reform legislation before us builds on the earlier progress of the Veterans Choice Act of 2014, and reaffirms a clear message: Delays at the VA cannot stand between veterans and the medical care they need. The shortcomings of a federal bureaucracy do not ‘free’ our nation from its promises to our all-volunteer armed forces. Veterans deserve prompt, thorough care -- period.
“In the few short years since the creation of VA Choice, the program has seen important success. More than two million veterans have taken the opportunity to see private providers when the VA system couldn’t meet their needs. In Kentucky, it helped more than twenty-three thousand veterans in 2017 alone. Thanks to the leadership of Chairman Isakson, this new legislation builds on this significant success, continues it, and improves it in ways that will help veterans even more.
“The VA Mission Act will clear the path for veterans to receive greater healthcare choices. It will eliminate the wait-time and distance requirements that keep veterans out of the driver’s seat, and empower them, in consultation with their respective physicians, to take charge of their own care. It will help prioritize and speed improvements to existing VA facilities. It will direct $5.2 billion to fund the Veterans Choice program. And it will establish more streamlined delivery of care through the Veterans Community Care program.
“The bill before us passed the House by an overwhelming bipartisan margin. It carries the support of the president and 38 veterans advocacy organizations. And it’s based on a simple idea: Promises made to those who sacrifice for our freedoms must be promises kept. Let’s make good on those promises this week.”
Related Issues: Health Care, America's Military, Veterans
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