WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, the House passed two critical bills that will bring improved care to Veterans and much-needed reforms to the Veterans Affairs Administration.
Congressman Tim Huelskamp (KS-01), co-sponsor of the VA Accountability Act of 2015 and author of the Whistleblower Testimony Travel Act, which was incorporated therein, gave the following statement:
“Today is a good day for our nation’s Veterans.
Watch Congressman Huelskamp’s floor speech on the issue here
“Veterans should not have to wait months or years for care, while corrupt employees causing the deplorable wait get paid leave for months or years during an investigation into their questionable actions. The VA Accountability Act provides the much-needed tools to ensure the VA Secretary has the authority to quickly remove corrupt or incompetent employees. This legislation also removes barriers for the brave whistleblowers who are risking their careers to give Congress information about the failures of the VA.
“We also voted on legislation to bring Choice to more Veterans across the country, especially those in rural areas like central and western Kansas where VA-run health care facilities are few and far between. This bill will modify eligibility requirements to ensure the 40-mile rule only applies to VA facilities with a full-time doctor. This will expand access to rural veterans in communities like Liberal, Kansas where the local VA facility has not had a full-time provider for four years.”
By a vote of 256 to 170, the VA Accountability Act moves to the Senate. This legislation gives the VA Secretary the responsibility and authority to fire any VA bureaucrat who is harming and failing our Veterans. Huelskamp’s whistleblower legislation protects brave VA employees who testify to Congress about the truth of the VA’s culture of corruption and non-accountability.
Also passed was legislation that will expand health care choices for Veterans living in rural America. The Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 (H.R. 3236) consolidates all non-VA provider programs into a single, new program known as the Veterans Choice Program. More Veterans will be able to receive care by improvements to the Choice program, including eligibility for new enrollees (previously only those enrolled by August 1, 2014 were eligible for Choice), altering the 40-mile requirement to be defined as only facilities with a full-time doctor, adding more Choice providers, and eliminating the need for reauthorization approvals for Choice care.
Huelskamp was integral to the successful push for the common-sense fix made in March to expand eligibility under the Choice Program for the “40-mile rule.” He has repeatedly voiced concerns about access to care in rural areas like Western Kansas and been a proponent of allowing veterans to receive care closer to home at one of the over 70 community hospitals located in the Big First District. He was an original cosponsor of the legislation that created the Choice program, the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 and has been a vocal member of the Committee pushing for increased oversight and improved access to care.