WASHINGTON — The Senate acted Wednesday to help thousands of military veterans enduring long wait times for VA medical care, as the FBI revealed it has opened a criminal investigation into a Veterans Affairs Department reeling from allegations of falsified records and inappropriate scheduling practices.
The Senate bill, approved 93-3, makes it easier for veterans who have encountered delays getting initial visits to receive VA-paid treatment from local doctors instead.
Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet of Colorado voted for the measure, which closely resembles a bill approved unanimously Tuesday in the House, prompting optimism among lawmakers from both parties that a compromise version could be on its way soon to President Barack Obama for his signature.
The White House said Wednesday that Obama supports the Senate bill, which would authorize about $35 billion over three years to pay for outside care for veterans, as well as hire hundreds of doctors and nurses and lease 26 new health facilities in 17 states and Puerto Rico.
The House bill would spend about $620 million over the same period.
The Veterans Affairs Department released an audit this week showing that more than 57,000 veterans have had to wait at least three months for initial appointments. An additional 64,000 veterans who asked for appointments in the past decade never got them.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who drafted the bill with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called the bill “a beginning — not an end — to the efforts that must be taken” to address the crisis affecting veterans’ health care.
Support for the bill was not unanimous. Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions and other Republicans complained that the measure was a “blank check” to spend billions of dollars with little or no way to rein it in.
“Make no mistake: This is an emergency,” McCain retorted.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., supported the bill but said “money is not the problem” at the VA.
“It’s management and accountability and honesty in treating the veterans” that are needed to improve care for veterans, Coburn said.
The Senate vote came as the FBI revealed it has opened a criminal investigation into the VA. FBI Director James Comey said that the investigation was being led by the FBI’s field office in Phoenix, which he described as the “primary locus of the original allegations” being investigated by the VA’s Office of Inspector General.
“We’re working with the VA IG to follow it wherever the facts take us,” Comey told the House Judiciary Committee.
The VA has confirmed that at least 35 veterans died while awaiting treatment in Phoenix.
