Press Release
Bera joins group of 116 lawmakers calling on Congress to stay in session until veterans’ health care bill is passed
Washington, DC,
July 28, 2014
Tags:
Military And Veterans
Congressman Ami Bera, M.D. joined a group of 116 lawmakers calling on Congress to stay in session until the passage of a compromise bill to help our nation's veterans get access to the timely and quality healthcare they have earned and deserve. In a letter, the lawmakers urge Congressional leadership to delay the August district work period until a deal is reached. Both the House and Senate have passed bills to address the crisis within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and have been in negotiations for more than five weeks while veterans wait for a solution. "The mess at the VA is outrageous and tragic, and the health of our veterans is far too important to delay action any longer," said Bera. "Our veterans have served us and they deserves the best health care our nation can offer — anything less is unacceptable. Now Congress must work together to do our jobs and serve them." In June, both the Senate and House passed similar, but not identical, legislation that would expand veterans' ability to seek care at non-VA facilities under certain conditions, strengthen Congress' oversight of the VA and eliminate performance-related bonuses for VA employees. The Senate and House bills have been before a Conference Committee since. Recently, there has been some promising bipartisan progress, but a final bill has still not been passed and Congressional leadership is still planning a five-week break. The text of the letter and a full list of co-signers are below. July 25, 2014 Dear Majority Leader Reid and Speaker Boehner, We, the undersigned Members of Congress, urge you to not let the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives go out of session prior to a successful resolution to the Conference Committee that was formed to work out a compromise between the Senate and House versions of the Veterans' Access to Care Act, and its subsequent passage in both chambers of Congress. The health of the veterans who have served us so bravely should not be placed on the back burner while Congress is away during the August district work period. Our veterans have served the nation with honor, and we owe it to them to waste no more time in ensuring they have access to the best health care possible. In light of recent serious complications and allegations of wrong-doing within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in addition to validated long wait times at VA medical facilities, it is extremely urgent that a fix be put into place as soon as possible. Both the Senate and House versions would expand veterans' ability to seek care at non-VA facilities under certain conditions, strengthen Congress' oversight of the VA and eliminate performance-related bonuses for VA employees. We need to address the overwhelmed VA and ensure all veterans get the care they have earned through their service to our country. Our veterans deserve nothing but the very best. Again, this issue is far too serious to wait, and we encourage a swift resolution to be found by remaining in session until a suitable compromise bill can be passed out of both chambers. Let's put our nations' veterans, who have sacrificed so much for our freedoms, first. Sincerely, Rep. Cheri Bustos Rep. Pete P. Gallego Rep. Janice Hahn Rep. Kyrsten Sinema Rep. Elizabeth H. Esty Rep. Joseph Crowley Rep. Nick J. Rahall II Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Rep. Collin C. Peterson Rep. Richard M. Nolan Rep. Suzan K. DelBene Rep. Barbara Lee Rep. Ed Perlmutter Rep. Katherine M. Clark Rep. Alcee L. Hastings Rep. Jackie Speier Rep. Juan Vargas Rep. C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger Rep. Daniel T. Kildee Rep. Tony Cárdenas Rep. Raul Ruiz Rep. John Garamendi Rep. Derek Kilmer Rep. Bruce L. Braley Rep. Jim Cooper Rep. Beto O'Rourke Rep. Timothy H. Bishop Rep. G. K. Butterfield Rep. Suzanne Bonamici Rep. Bill Foster Rep. Kathy Castor Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney Rep. Ami Bera Rep. Janice D. Schakowsky Rep. Cedric L. Richmond Rep. Gwen Moore Rep. John Barrow Rep. Henry A. Waxman Rep. Michael M. Honda Rep. James A. Himes Rep. Jared Huffman Rep. James P. McGovern Rep. Emanuel Cleaver Rep. André Carson Rep. Susan A. Davis Rep. Doris O. Matsui Rep. Daniel B. Maffei Rep. Colleen W. Hanabusa Rep. Terri A. Sewell Rep. John Lewis Rep. Jim Costa Rep. Peter A. DeFazio Rep. Chris Van Hollen Rep. Judy Chu Rep. William R. Keating Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott Rep. Maxine Waters Rep. Steve Israel Rep. Joe Garcia Rep. Ron Barber Rep. Grace Meng Rep. Julia Brownley Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick Rep. Mark Takano Rep. Betty McCollum Rep. Dina Titus Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham Rep. Ann M. Kuster Rep. Donna F. Edwards Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney Rep. Lois Frankel Rep. Chellie Pingree Rep. Niki Tsongas Rep. John A. Yarmuth Rep. Matt Cartwright Rep. John P. Sarbanes Rep. Mark Pocan Rep. Carol Shea-Porter Rep. Bobby L. Rush Rep. Lois Capps Rep. Dave Loebsack Rep. Paul Tonko Rep. Daniel Lipinski Rep. Alan S. Lowenthal Rep. Patrick Murphy Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro Rep. Brian Higgins Rep. Charles B. Rangel Rep. Gerald E. Connolly Rep. Scott H. Peters Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter Rep. John F. Tierney Rep. Mike Quigley Rep. Nita M. Lowey Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III Rep. Theodore E. Deutch Rep. John B. Larson Rep. Corrine Brown Rep. Tammy Duckworth Rep. William L. Owens Rep. Loretta Sanchez Rep. Jerry McNerney Rep. Joyce Beatty Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. Rep. Joe Courtney Rep. Tim Ryan Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez Rep. Earl Blumenauer Rep. James R. Langevin Rep. Brad Sherman Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr Rep. Peter Welch Rep. Stephen F. Lynch Rep. Adam B. Schiff Rep. Bradley S. Schneider |