Beto O'Rourke: “I would like to begin by recognizing the incredibly important work of my colleague from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup) in ensuring…”

“I would like to begin by recognizing the incredibly important work of my colleague from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup) in ensuring that we bring more physicians and care providers into the VA so that more veterans can get access to quality, timely care, producing better outcomes for them. Of course, our veterans have served this country so honorably and have put their lives on the line, and now it is our turn to fulfill our obligation. Dr. Wenstrup's underlying legislation is going to ensure that we get a step closer to doing that. He will agree with me, I hope, that one of our challenges is recruiting the right talent into the VA out of residency programs across the country. Right now, the VA is operating with one hand tied behind its back because it limits itself to the last year of a medical residency before it begins talking to that resident to try to recruit them to serve at the VA. Meanwhile, most residents begin making career decisions a year or two earlier than that. And private sector clinics, hospitals, other public institutions are talking to those residents, trying to recruit them, and successfully bringing them to places other than the VA. This amendment will allow the VA to begin recruiting and offering conditional job offers with 2 years left in a residency.…”