Reid sets Wednesday vote on VA reforms

The Senate will vote Wednesday on legislation to overhaul the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has set up a vote for 4 p.m. on whether to waive a budget point of order against the bill, which is needed because the cost of the legislation is not fully paid for. If the point of order is waived, as expected, the Senate will move to final passage.

The legislation aims to address the long wait times plaguing VA clinics by holding officials accountable and giving some veterans the option of obtaining private medical care.

{mosads}Reid is using a House-passed bill, H.R. 3230, as the legislative vehicle in order to make it easier for the House to pass the Senate version of the VA reforms. The Senate is adding it’s legislative language — S. 2450 — as an amendment.

The bill, crafted by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), gives the VA secretary more flexibility to fire those involved in misconduct, authorizes construction of more than 20 VA medical facilities and uses $500 million to hire more doctors and nurses. It would establish a two-year program to allow veterans living more than 40 miles from a VA hospital to see the doctor of their choice.

The bill also includes measures allowing in-state tuition for all veterans at public colleges and improving medical care for military sexual assault victims. Surviving spouses of former service members would also be eligible for more VA education benefits.

“There are serious problems at the VA now, and they must be addressed now — not next week, not next month but now,” Sanders said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “Our job now is to defend the veterans who have defended us.”

The House passed similar legislation on Tuesday. Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), who has been leading the reform effort in the House, has yet to endorse the McCain-Sanders bill.

“I’m pleased that Sens. Sanders, McCain and [Richard] Burr appear to have reached a deal to address VA’s delays and care and accountability crises. … From what I’ve heard so far, the proposal sounds promising, but without seeing complete details of a bill in its final form, I can’t make any further judgments,” Miller said last week when the Senate bill was announced.

Sanders said he thinks a compromise could reach President Obama’s desk by next week.

“I am confident that we can bridge the differences between the two bills and send the president a bill that he can sign as soon as possible,” Sanders said.

The compromise on VA reform comes following the resignation of Secretary Eric Shinseki after the agency’s inspector general confirmed charges that officials at a Phoenix clinic had covered up long patient wait times. A White House-mandated audit also found fraudulent practices at a number of VA facilities around the country.

— Martin Matishak contributed to this article.