The
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW) was on hand today at Fort
Belvoir, VA as the president signed H.R. 3230, the Veterans Access, Choice and
Accountability Act of 2014 into law. The newly signed law will provide the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with an additional $15 billion of emergency
funding to ensure veterans who cannot be seen by a VA doctor will not be forced
to wait months for care. It will also allow VA to begin building capacity and
regain veterans’ trust by hiring more physicians and building needed
infrastructure and allowing the Secretary to fire top executives who don’t have
veterans’ best interest at heart.
“As
early as 2002 the VFW has testified before Congress that veterans are waiting
too long for care and that VA doesn’t have the doctors and space needed to
provide timely care,” said VFW Commander-in-Chief John Stroud. “This
legislation is a positive first step in putting VA back on track, but it will
take decisive leadership within VA, as well as strong oversight from Congress
and the veteran community to ensure our veterans receive the timely, quality
care they have earned.”
The
VFW membership then passed a stern resolution at the recent VFW National
Convention, telling Congress to either pass the bill before recess, or pay the
consequences back home. This message was quickly reinforced by the VFW’s
grassroots Action Corps, which sent nearly 32,000 messages to every
Congressional office on Capitol Hill, insisting legislators take
action.
“VFW
members were rightfully outraged over the recent controversy, and today the
voices of our members resonated strongly in Washington,” said Stroud.
The
Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 also includes critical
provisions expanding traumatic brain injury care programs for veterans;
improving education benefits for surviving spouses; critical funding for 27 new
or expanded VA Community-based Outpatient Clinics; and a provision offering veterans
in-state tuition at the public college or university of their choice within
three years of leaving active duty.
The
new law comes in the wake of a nationwide scandal in which veterans and
whistleblowers called attention to veterans languishing on appointment waiting
lists at VA facilities. The scandal has led to widespread criminal
investigations and the resignation of many top VA officials. When news of the
scandal broke, the VFW mobilized its health care help line, 1-800-VFW-1899,
encouraging veterans to call and share their experiences, and intervening
directly with VA on behalf of more than 200 veterans who were waiting for care.