[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 185 (Monday, November 13, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 VETERANS INCREASED CHOICE FOR TRANSPLANTED ORGANS AND RECOVERY ACT OF 
                                  2017

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                               speech of

                  HON. HENRY C. ``HANK'' JOHNSON, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 7, 2017

  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 2601, the 
Veterans Increased Choice for Transplanted Organs and Recovery (VICTOR) 
Act of 2017. This is an important piece of legislation and I am pleased 
to support it.
  The Veterans Health Administration has provided solid organ 
transplants since 1962 and bone marrow transplants since 1982. 
Currently, there are fourteen locations across the country that provide 
these services. However, if a veteran does not live near one of these 
facilities, the difficulty of travel could prevent veterans from 
getting the medical care they need. Also, even if veterans are able to 
get to a facility, they still face the risk of getting waitlisted. We 
need to provide more options to veterans who require life-saving organ 
transplant operations. H.R. 2601 provides the solution to this problem 
by amending the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 
to allow eligible veterans to receive health care from any facility 
which is related to the Department of Defense, the Indian Health 
Service, federal health centers, or any other health-care provider who 
participates in the Medicare program. The conditions of this program 
apply to veterans who need an organ transplant operation, live more 
than 100 miles from a Veterans Affair transplant center, and need care 
related to an upcoming transplant.
  Since the closest Veterans Affairs transplant center to my district 
in Georgia is almost 150 miles away in Birmingham, Alabama, this bill 
would have a major impact for the nearly 45,000 veterans who live in my 
district. Should anyone require a transplant surgery, they would first 
be able to explore their options in Atlanta instead of being forced to 
travel to a different state, which is why I support H.R. 2601.

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