Annie Kuster: “I, too, want to commend our chairman, Mr. Roe, and ranking member, Mr. Walz, for their bipartisan efforts. I rise to…”

“I, too, want to commend our chairman, Mr. Roe, and ranking member, Mr. Walz, for their bipartisan efforts. I rise to speak on S. 544, the bill that will eliminate the sunset on the Veterans Choice Program. The Veterans Choice Program was a bipartisan effort to quickly help our veterans in need by ensuring they had access to quality health care after the crisis in Phoenix. However, it was a temporary program. It was not intended to last longer than a few years until Congress could have developed the future of VA community care. As many of my colleagues note, the Choice Program needs an update. This bill represents the first step of that process. It is expected that the Veterans Choice fund will still have funding by August 2017, as noted, when the Choice Program is scheduled to sunset. This bill will ensure that our veterans will be able to use those resources, and it will ensure those who have long-term care through the Choice Program will not suddenly find themselves without care. But, as we design a new program to replace the Choice Program, we must ensure that it is an effective and efficient system of care that follows the very best practices of American health care. Part of that is ensuring that these healthcare practitioners do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, gender, or sexual orientation.…”