By: Leo Shane (Military Times)
WASHINGTON — In a final flurry of activity before their scheduled August recess, House lawmakers passed a series of veterans-themed legislation, including an emergency funding measure to keep the Veterans Affairs Choice program afloat for another six months.
That financial bridge for Choice — which allows veterans to seek care with private-sector physicians at VA’s expense — is expected to quickly pass the Senate, given a mid-August funding deadline for the program. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and ranking member Jon Tester, D-Mont., have already endorsed the plan.
The agreement comes after a tumultuous week on the issue where a previous plan was defeated on the House floor, sending lawmakers and veterans advocates scrambling for a quick new compromise. On Wednesday, VA officials announced a deal had been reached, but lawmakers denied that release and spent another day negotiating details.
The final plan, which passed the House by a 414-0 vote Friday, is a $3.9 billion emergency spending plan that provides $2.1 billion for six months of funding for the Choice program and $1.8 billion for 28 new medical leases and new health care specialist hires within VA.
Money for the legislation would come from trimming pensions for Medicaid-eligible veterans and a variety of fees, offsets that have been largely non-controversial.
What has been controversial is the larger issue of continuing to fund the Choice program. Several leading veterans groups have resisted efforts to continue funding the program without more money for core VA services, arguing that shifting money outside the federal system risks undermining it.
But other groups — in particular, several conservative-backed veterans organizations — have pushed for more flexibility for veterans who wish to seek care outside the VA system.
On Friday, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Phil Roe, R-Tenn., said the compromise legislation is a positive step forward.