Julia Brownley: “I thank the gentleman from Minnesota, our ranking member, for yielding me time and for his tireless advocacy on behalf…”

“I thank the gentleman from Minnesota, our ranking member, for yielding me time and for his tireless advocacy on behalf of our Nation's veterans. As the ranking member of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health, it has been my privilege to work with the ranking member and my fellow committee members to establish and conduct rigorous oversight of the Choice Program. We enacted the Choice Act in a time of crisis. Those of us who served on the committee during that time remember all too well the horrific stories that came to light that moved Congress to enact this law. Congress passed the Choice Act to ensure that all veterans receive timely access to quality care. It is clear, however, that, in the rush to set up the Choice Program, many veterans were still forced to wait too long and bureaucratic headaches continue to delay needed care. We need to get Choice 2.0 right and balance the obvious need for care in the community while protecting the top quality care that the VA provides. We must also make sure that Choice 2.0 protects the civil rights of veterans as well as VA employees, contractors, and community providers caring for our veterans. Today's bill will allow the VA to continue spending the remaining funds in the Veterans Choice Program fund. It will also allow the VA to reimburse community providers faster and improve the sharing of medical records. It gives us time to continue our bipartisan work to fix the Choice Program.…”