FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 27, 2017
Contact: Amanda Maddox, 202-224-7777
Marneé Banks (Tester), 202-604-5521
Isakson, Tester Statement on Legislation to Continue Veterans Choice Program
Legislation
provides critical funding to ensure veterans have continued access to
care in the community, authorizes medical facility leases, bolsters VA
medical workforce recruitment efforts
WASHINGTON –
U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., chairman
and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, today
released the following statement after leading the way to broker a
bipartisan, bicameral deal that provides critical funding to continue
the Veterans Choice Program:
“The Veterans Choice Program was created to ensure that veterans could receive timely appointments in their own communities,” said Isakson and Tester in a joint statement. “We
are glad that veterans will continue to have access to care without
interruption and that the VA will be able to improve the delivery of
care by addressing critical infrastructure and medical staffing needs.
While this is only a short-term fix to the problem, we pledge to
continue working together to address the various barriers to timely care
for our nation’s veterans. We
thank all of our colleagues, especially Senators McCain and Moran, who
helped reach this important agreement, and we look forward to our
continued collaboration in the future.”
The VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017 authorizes
and appropriates $2.1 billion for the Veterans Choice Fund. The
legislation also authorizes 28 major medical facility leases and puts in
place reforms that strengthen the VA’s ability to recruit, train and
retain their workforce.
The
bill is expected to be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives on
Friday, July 28. If approved, the Senate must follow suit and pass the
measure before Aug. 15, 2017, the date the VA informed Congress that the
critical program would run out of funding.
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The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is chaired by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the 115th Congress.
Isakson
is a veteran himself – having served in the Georgia Air National Guard
from 1966-1972 – and has been a member of the Senate VA Committee since
he joined the Senate in 2005. Isakson’s home state of Georgia is home to
more than a dozen military installations representing each branch of
the armed forces as well as more than 750,000 veterans.