Newhouse veterans bill passes through committee

WASHINGTON D.C. — A bill sponsored by Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Yakima, designed to fix mismanagement issues at the Veterans Health Administration recently passed through a key Congressional committee.

The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs passed the VA Management Alignment Act of 2017, which is sponsored by Newhouse and Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor. The bill, if made into law, would bring about fixes to the VA and its management issues. The bill would direct the head of the VA to create a report to Congress in which they detail the necessary steps to reorganize and effectively improve veterans’ access to health care.

In 2014 news broke about wait times for patients at the VA in Phoenix, along with other VA locations in the U.S. A national audit of the VA discovered that new patients at the VA Puget Sound hospital had to wait, on average, 59 days for an appointment.

“Veterans deserve a VA that works, and our bill will require action to improve systemic problems that affect delivery of care,” Newhouse said. “I am grateful for my colleagues on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs for approving our legislation to pinpoint and address mismanagement issues at the VA.”

The American Legion- and American Federation of Government Employees-supported legislation comes in the wake of studies that detailed issues of mismanagement at the VA. Reports, including one released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), uncovered problems with human resources at the VA and found the VA failed to address internal and congressional recommendations to fix manipulated wait times and management failures.

The bill states the VA will deliver its report to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House within 180 days of the passage of the bill. The report would detail the job duties of senior level VA staff and how the department is actually organized. In addition, the bill stipulates the report would recommend any legislative changes that are needed at the VA.

“We need to have the backs of those who serve,” Kilmer stated. “Stories and reports about manipulated wait times and mismanagement in our VA system proved that systemic reforms were needed. I’m glad our bill to improve care so veterans get the services they have earned is moving forward.”

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.