[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 126 (Wednesday, August 5, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S6391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. McCAIN:
  S. 1991. A bill to eliminate the sunset date for the Choice Program 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to expand eligibility for such 
program, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, this Friday marks 1 year since the 
Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability and 
Transparency Act was signed into law by President Obama. This 
bipartisan legislation was intended to address the nationwide scandal 
involving the death of at least 40 veterans who had been waiting for 
weeks, months, and even years for necessary care from the VA. 
Ultimately, we learned that senior VA officials purposely denied care 
and lied about it to obtain financial bonuses. We are still cleaning-up 
the aftermath of this scandal and Congress' work continues today.
  The hallmark of that law is the VA Choice Card, which for the first 
time allows veterans who can't make an appointment in a reasonable time 
frame or who live far from a VA medical facility, to see the doctor of 
their choice to get the care they need. But, with all the bureaucratic 
hoops that the VA has required veterans to jump through to use the 
Choice Card since that law's enactment and the lack of information the 
VA has provided veterans and relevant providers on how to get and use 
the Card, the VA has clearly been reluctant to expanding choice for 
veterans. Even after a year, I continue to get e-mails, letters and 
phone calls from veterans and their caregivers who are extremely 
frustrated with the inability to use the VA Choice Card.
  As I said at the time, last year's bill was meant as a beginning, not 
an end, to addressing inadequate care for our veterans. While the 
current law authorizes a three-year pilot program to begin 
implementation of the VA Choice Card, the year that has passed since 
its enactment has shown is that there is overwhelming demand for 
veterans to have the same freedom of choice for their health care that 
military and civilian retirees have.
  I have long advocated for our veterans to have the flexibility to 
choose where and when they receive the care they have earned. And the 
Permanent VA Choice Card Act that I am introducing today moves us in 
that direction.
  The Permanent VA Choice Card Act makes the current 3-year pilot 
program for the VA Choice Card permanent. This would help remove 
uncertainty both within the VA, among providers, and especially among 
our disabled veterans that this program is here to stay.
  Also, the Permanent VA Choice Card Act would expand eligibility for 
the Choice Card. Any service-connected veteran enrolled through the VA 
should have access to this level of choice. It would do so by removing 
the requirement that a qualified veteran live more than 40 miles from a 
VA facility or have to wait 30 days for an appointment.
  It is clear our veterans are in need of care and are not able to 
receive it. More than a year after the VA scandal and a year since the 
Choice Act was signed into law, wait-times are still too long and in 
some facilities are even longer than they were a year ago. The VA has 
made it challenging for those with the VA Choice Card to make 
appointments, get follow-ups, and to see specialists near their homes. 
By enacting the Permanent VA Choice Card Act, we will make sure that no 
veteran should be denied needed care due to wait times or distance to a 
VA facility.
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