Last summer, amid startling news reports of manipulation, mismanagement and possibly death caused by failures at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Congress came together and passed legislation to overhaul veterans’ access to health care. I was proud to sponsor the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 (the Choice Act), and deliver good news to veterans: They would have a choice when it comes to accessing health care they deserve, and many would have the option of seeing their local physician.

A mere six months after the Choice Act was signed into law, and only three months after veterans began to receive their Choice Cards, thousands of veterans are still struggling to access the care they were promised through the new law. This is because of the VA’s flawed implementation of the Choice Program and foolish interpretation of the 40-mile rule in the distance criteria.

When Congress passed the Choice Act, the intent was to allow veterans to access local health care if they cannot receive the VA care they need within 40 miles of their home, or their wait time for an appointment is more than 30 days.

Unfortunately, the VA decided to narrow the interpretation of the 40-mile rule, choosing to take into account only the distance of a VA medical facility from a veteran’s home and not whether the VA facility can actually provide the services the veteran needs. Veterans are being told they cannot use their Choice Cards because they live within 40 miles of a VA facility, even though that facility does not offer the care they require. The VA is denying access the law was intended to provide and forcing veterans – especially rural veterans – to choose between traveling hours to a VA medical facility, paying out of pocket or going without care altogether.

In Hays, for example, a veteran is forced to drive 200 miles several times a month for routine cortisone shots because the VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) just 25 miles from his home does not offer the shots he needs. One would think this veteran could use his Choice Card to visit a local physician or local hospital to get treatment – but the VA is denying access to this care. Thousands of veterans across the country are facing this same frustration.

Why is common sense not prevailing at the VA? Why is the VA not bending over backwards to take care of veterans?

In the absence of VA action, I am working in the Senate to make certain veterans are not dismissed or forgotten just because of where they live – and we are making progress. In a rare 100-to-0 vote on the Senate Floor on March 26, 2015, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed my amendment (#356) to the Budget Resolution (S. Con. Res. 11) calling on the VA to provide veterans access to non-VA health care when the nearest VA medical facility within 40 miles drive time from a veteran’s home is incapable of offering the care sought by the veteran.

This amendment mirrors bipartisan legislation I’ve introduced called the Veterans Access to Community Care Act of 2015 (S. 207), which is cosponsored by a bipartisan group of 19 Senators. The bill has been endorsed by numerous veterans’ organizations including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, AMVETS, Vietnam Veterans of America and the National Guard Association of the United States, as well as the National Rural Health Association.

I am hopeful the strong support conveyed by the Senate’s recent passage of Amendment #356 will encourage consideration of S. 207 by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and a vote on the Senate Floor in the very near future.

As a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, I have questioned VA Secretary Bob McDonald and other VA officials for months in hearings, personal meetings, phone calls and correspondence about the VA’s flawed interpretation of the 40-mile rule and what can be done to fix the problem. For some reason, the VA refuses to use the authority Congress gave it and put the best interest of veterans first.

Enough is enough. This is not a Republican issue, this is not a Democrat issue. This is an American issue that mostly calls for common sense.

When Congress passed the Choice Act, we called on the VA to live up to its commitment to care for those who have sacrificed for our country – I will not back down. We ought to always err on the side of what is best for the veteran, not what is best for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., is a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.