House votes to ensure speedier care for US vets

Source: AP-EXCITE

By ALAN FRAM

WASHINGTON (AP) — United and eager to respond to a national uproar, the House overwhelmingly approved legislation Tuesday to make it easier for patients enduring long waits for care at Veterans Affairs facilities to get VA-paid treatment from local doctors.

The 421-0 vote was Congress' strongest response yet to the outcry over backlogs and falsified data at the beleaguered agency.
Senate leaders plan debate soon on a similar, broader package that has also drawn bipartisan support, underscoring how politically toxic it could be for lawmakers to be seen as ignoring the problem.

The VA, which serves almost 9 million veterans, has been reeling from mounting evidence that workers fabricated statistics on patients' waits for medical appointments in an effort to mask frequent, long delays. A VA audit this week showed that more than 57,000 new applicants for care have had to wait at least three months for initial appointments.

"I cannot state it strongly enough — this is a national disgrace," said House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chief author of the legislation.

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Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140610/us--veterans-health_care-2b33f56948.html

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Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., right, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, confers with Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, the ranking member, left, as the panel holds a hearing to examine why thousands of military veterans have been waiting for up to three months for medical appointments, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, June 9, 2014. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)