Wednesday, July 22, 2015 | 4:50 p.m.
Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev.
Legislation backed by GOP Sen. Dean Heller to prevent the backlogging of veterans seeking medical treatment at VA hospitals cleared a major hurdle today in Washington, passing a key Senate committee.
The legislation, S. 1203, aims to create a health care claims system able to withstand a surge of veterans seeking assistance. It comes after outrage that erupted last year after it was uncovered that some veterans were waiting months or years for care. The Nevada Republican has been one of the strongest supporters of measures that will reform the Veterans Affairs Department in the aftermath of the news, chairing a committee investigating the VA.
Heller introduced the legislation in May after finding that in nine states — including Nevada — veterans were having to wait at least 230 days before seeing a VA doctor.
"The red tape our veterans face is unacceptable, and until the backlog is eliminated, I won’t back down,” Heller said in a release.
The measure, a bipartisan effort that’s endorsed by seven other lawmakers, now moves to the Senate floor for debate.
The Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs also passed two of Heller's bills that would help compensate Filipino veterans for service in World War II and mandate that research on the VA becomes public.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy