Political Quotes

“I wish to bring S. 1463 to the attention of my colleagues. The topic of the bill is one my colleagues have heard me speak about numerous times before in the Veterans' Affairs Committee, where I am a member. Just yesterday, I addressed this topic in the appropriations subcommittee markup of veterans and military construction, where I am a member and have many times on the Senate floor. The issue is the Department of Veterans Affairs and its interpretation of the CHOICE Act. My colleagues will remember we passed the CHOICE Act back in August of last year. The important provision for today's conversation is what that law says, which is, if a veteran lives more than 40 miles from a VA facility, the Department of Veterans Affairs must provide services, if the veteran chooses, at a location in his or her home community. Unfortunately, the Department of Veterans Affairs has interpreted it in a way that eliminates the opportunity for a veteran who happens to live within 40 miles of a facility from accessing that care, even though that facility doesn't provide the service the veteran needs. S. 1463 corrects that problem. It indicates that the 40-mile rule applies only in the circumstance where a veterans facility provides the service the veteran needs. The Senate has previously voted on this provision. In fact, in our budget, it was adopted 100 to 0 on a rollcall vote. I think what I am presenting is something that is very noncontroversial.…”