[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5585]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            ELIMINATE SUNSET DATE OF VETERANS CHOICE PROGRAM

  (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 rise today in support of 
H.R. 369, which will eliminate the sunset date of the Veterans Choice 
Program. The Choice Program gives the men and women who served this 
great Nation the ability to receive health care in their own home 
communities.
  Instead of waiting for a VA appointment or traveling a long distance 
to a VA facility, our veterans can get services closer to home. The 
Choice Act states that the Department of Veterans Affairs is authorized 
to continue services until August 7, 2017, or until the funds provided 
under the Choice Act ran out, whatever occurs first.
  There is still funding set aside for this program. Our veterans 
should be entitled to use it. That is why I support H.R. 369, which 
would eliminate the expiration date on the Choice Act.
  However, I do have serious concerns that I want to see addressed in 
the future with the third-party provider Health Net, which has provided 
less than satisfactory services to our veterans. We must give our 
veterans all that we can when they return home, and I urge my 
colleagues to support H.R. 369.

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