Senate Votes for Emergency Funding for Veterans Benefits, Bill Moves to President

On July 31st, the Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill with emergency funding for veterans benefits, including $10 billion to pay private doctors to treat veterans who could not get an appointment with a local Veterans Affairs hospital within the 14 day wait time.

“My belief is that the cost of war, in terms of what it does to the men and women who fight our battles, is a lot greater than most Americans fully understand,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the Senate’s chief negotiator. “It is absolutely imperative we don’t make veterans into political pawns.”

The bill, which offers a total of $16.3 billion in emergency funding for Veterans Affairs across the country, also establishes an independent committee to review the agency’s operations and liaise with Congress to improve outcomes for veterans.

However, after debate between the House and Senate, the bill was scaled down from an originally proposed $17 billion, an even smaller number than the $18 billion former Acting Secretary Sloan Gibson estimated the Veterans Administration needed to hire more staff and create systems to prevent long wait times at VA hospitals.

Investigations into Veterans Affairs and delayed veterans benefits continues. On Wednesday, July 30th, a new report shows that staffing may not be the sole issue. VA Employees who scheduled veterans’ visits to 109 VA medical centers said that wait times had been falsified, and at 110 VA hospitals, employees were pressured to keep secret wait lists – like the scandalous list kept at the Phoenix VA – in order to keep actual lengthy wait times a secret and make the facilities appear as though they were improving their performance. On average nationally, 7.9% of employees at VA medical centers were asked to track appointments outside of the computer system, while 12.8% were asked to manipulate or falsify data about wait times.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham praised the new veterans benefits bill, saying that the most important part of the legislation gave administrators the ability to fire poorly-performing employees. On Tuesday, August 5th, Graham said that the best way to ensure that the VA would perform better in the future was to fire those who caused the problems – including secret wait lists and months-long wait times leading to delayed treatment and higher mortality for veterans.

He also praised the Veterans Choice Card, which allows veterans to receive treatment with private doctors if they cannot get treatment at a VA hospital within 14 days.

The Card also allows veterans to receive treatment with a private doctor if there is no VA hospital within 40 miles – as several VA hospitals have closed in the last few years, this would allow many of Graham’s constituents, who live in rural areas, to receive better treatment much faster.

“It will make the VA more responsible because veterans will have a choice so if the VA doesn’t deliver they’re going to lose a lot of business,” Graham said.

President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill into law later this week.

The Strom Law Firm Can Help with VA Wrongful Death and Delayed Treatment Cases

The mistreatment of Veterans in unacceptable. The Veterans Benefit Lawyers at the Strom Law Firm, L.L.C. work with veterans to file claims for a variety of disabilities and can assist you in filing your claims with the Veterans Administration. Veterans Disability can be complex.  Not understanding the basics and not having counsel may leave you in a bind.  We understand that you and your family need your benefits.  We will put our years of experience to work for you to ensure that you have the representation necessary to actively pursue your claim. Call the Veterans Benefits Attorneys at the Strom Law Firm today to discuss your case. We will be glad to discuss any questions you may have during our free, confidential discussion. Call the attorneys at the Strom Law Firm at (803) 252-4800.