[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8175]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               VICTOR ACT

  (Mr. DUNN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. DUNN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the promise we made to 
our veterans and introduce the Veterans Increased Choice for 
Transplanted Organs and Recovery Act of 2017, the VICTOR Act.
  The VICTOR Act will allow veterans who live more than 100 miles from 
one of the Nation's 14 VA transplant centers to receive care at a 
local, federally certified facility.
  From Florida's Second District, the closest VA facility which 
performs heart, lung, and liver transplants is in Nashville, Tennessee. 
A veteran in Ocala would have to travel more than 600 miles to receive 
a new liver, despite there being seven federally certified centers in 
Florida.
  As a surgeon, I know that timely organ transplants can make the 
difference between life and death, and yet our veterans sit on waiting 
lists for organs they may never receive. Government bureaucracy should 
not hurt our Nation's veterans when they are in desperate need of care. 
The VICTOR Act will give those who fought for our freedom a fighting 
chance here at home.

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