This Independence Day, we have a lot to celebrate, including a major, historic congressional victory for veterans. Last week, the House of Representatives took decisive action by voting 409 to 1 for health care budget reform legislation that will strengthen the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system for decades to come. The Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act will ensure sufficient, timely and predictable funding for veterans health care, a top goal of veterans service organizations, including the Disabled American Veterans, for more than a decade.
The new legislation would authorize Congress to approve advance appropriations for VA medical programs, which puts VA's health care budget in place one year in advance of when the funds are actually needed. This reform would allow VA administrators and directors sufficient time to prepare and plan how to provide medical care to enrolled veterans, without having to worry about budget showdowns or government shutdowns. Advance appropriations would end the funding delays and unpredictable VA budgets that have threatened the quality of health care our nation's veterans.
Although safety and quality of medical care offered to veterans has dramatically improved over the past 15 years, the funding necessary to maintain the system has been a constant problem. Congress was late in passing VA's budget in 19 of the past 22 years, largely due to partisan squabbling. As a result, VA medical center directors have been hindered when seeking to hire additional medical personnel, expand treatment facilities or procure new diagnostic equipment. VA's health care professionals have been forced to make do with outdated medical technologies, insufficient supplies and poorly maintained buildings. Most importantly, millions of veterans across the United States have felt the impact of late budgets through longer wait times for appointments and shorter visits with health care providers.
To change all that, House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairmen Bob Filner (D-Calif.) and Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) in February introduced bipartisan legislation to provide advance appropriations for VA medical care; and it has steadily gained almost unstoppable momentum ever since. More than half of the Senate has already cosponsored this legislation -- with significant numbers of Democrats and Republicans -- and in the House there were 125 bipartisan cosponsors when they approved the legislation last week. Last year, President Obama supported advance appropriations during the campaign and in April of this year he publicly reaffirmed his strong support to the nation's veterans leaders, who are united in calling for this legislation.
In May the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees unanimously approved the legislation, and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) are both supportive of the legislation. Now is the time for the Senate to complete this act by passing the legislation and sending it to the White House for President Obama to sign.
On behalf of the Disabled American Veterans and all veterans, I applaud Congress' efforts to provide better health care and benefits for our nation's veterans, particularly disabled veterans. Congress can now create a legacy that will permanently end veterans health care budget delays, a reform necessary to ensure that both today's and future veterans receive timely and quality health care they have earned through their sacrifice.
On this Independence Day, as we celebrate our nation's birth -- which was won through the sacrifice of America's first veterans -- I encourage Congress to swiftly complete work on the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act so that President Obama can enact it into law.
