NYAPRS Note: As we await the final legislation offered in agreement between Sanders and Miller, initial reports offer indications that VA reforms may provide relief to veterans waiting over thirty days for an appointment, without access to doctors and specialists, and in need of integrated mental health care. This bipartisan approach is commendable given the general avoidance of blame and responsibility taken by many in previous months throughout the VA scandal.
Deal Reached on VA Reforms
Politico: Lauren French, 7/27/2014
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Jeff Miller have reached an agreement to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to an aide briefed on the matter.
The legislation, which is to be unveiled Monday, will touch on “both the short-term and long-term needs of the VA,” the aide said.
The two lawmakers worked continuously through the weekend to craft a deal before Congress heads home for a five-week recess Friday.
Last week, the prospect of Sanders (I-Vt.) and Miller (R-Fla.) reaching a compromise had seemingly declined when Senate Democrats and House Republicans criticized each other for giving up on negotiations. But Miller and Sanders were ultimately able to reach a compromise.
“Miller and Sanders continued negotiations on a VA reform package this weekend and made significant progress toward an agreement on legislation to make VA more accountable and to help the department recruit more doctors, nurses and other health care professionals,” an advisory from Miller’s and Sanders’ offices said.
Specific details of the agreement were not immediately clear, but any legislation would likely give the VA secretary a broader ability to fire senior officials accused of mismanagement. The deal is also expected to allocate money for veterans who have been awaiting medical treatment for longer than 30 days the ability to leave the VA system for care.
Negotiations hit a snag last week over disagreements with how to offset portions of the bill, which will likely cost between $10 billion and $25 billion, and also how to handle a last-minute request from acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson for $17.6 billion to hire more doctors and make improvements to VA centers.
While Sanders and Senate Democrats prefer the bill’s costs to be treated as emergency spending, there is a strong push from Republicans to raise revenue or make other cuts to offset the bill’s costs as much as possible.
Even before the deal was struck, lawmakers like Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) were pressing to make sure there was a clear portrait of the bill’s final price tag before it gets a vote in either chamber. The Senate’s original bill flew through the chamber before the Congressional Budget Office could give a precise estimate of the bill’s fiscal impacts. The CBO’s preliminary numbers contained the eye-popping estimate that veterans seeking additional care could cost the government an additional $50 billion a year, a number that was disputed by some senators.
It now will fall on the House and Senate to pass any legislation the conference committee produces. Miller said last week he still hopes Congress can approve a bill and have it sent to the White House for President Barack Obama’s signature by Aug. 1.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/veterans-affairs-reforms-deal-109425.html#ixzz38lcHrtk2