[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13726]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            VETERANS ACCESS, CHOICE, AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I am here to celebrate the 
most recent of many bills produced by this House, the Republican-led 
House. This one is H.R. 3230, the Veterans Access, Choice, and 
Accountability Act, with overwhelming bipartisan support. This 
legislation will begin the process of reforming the Veterans Health 
Administration and instituting great accountability across our 
veterans' health system.
  Being the father of an Army soldier and having worked for 30 years as 
a health care practitioner, my heart broke when I first heard of the 
disturbing revelations of gross misconduct and dysfunction at the VA.
  Fortunately, with the passage of H.R. 3230, we have moved one step 
closer to restoring the trust of our veterans. This legislation will 
afford greater and timelier access to cost-effective care services, 
while bringing necessary changes to the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
However, Mr. Speaker, this is just the first step, and more needs to be 
done to fulfill the commitments we have made to these brave men and 
women.
  I want to thank the chairmen of the House and the Senate Veterans' 
Affairs Committees for their commitment to overcoming political 
differences and finding common ground.

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