Political Quotes

“I hope very strongly that my colleague and friend the Senator from New York and Senator McCain will succeed in resolving this potential roadblock to amendment No. 4039, because I very fervently support it. The amendment would extend the temporary Veterans Choice Program for an additional 3 years and provide funding to do so. The extension of this program is vital, and the current authorization is coming to an end. At this point, we lack a path forward on any of the proposals to overhaul the VA's care in the community program. While the Veterans Choice Program has been far from perfect, requiring multiple legislative and administrative changes to make it function for veterans, extending it for an additional 3 years will allow us to address these necessary changes that Senators Tester and Burr have provided in a bipartisan way in the committee earlier this year. I remain committed to working with them and with Chairman Isakson to make further changes to the program as well as continuing to improve access to care within the VA, which is the preferred choice for many veterans. In addition to extending Choice, this amendment also would allow the VA to move closer to consolidating existing programs for care in the community, eliminating some of the bureaucratic hurdles to smooth contracting for the VA.…”