Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2016 -- Continued

Floor Speech

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Ms. AYOTTE. Mr. President, last year in this body, we heard and saw
evidence about what was happening at some of our VA facilities--the
manipulated wait lists, the delays our veterans had to endure--and,
unfortunately, some of our veterans died waiting for care.

We passed a bipartisan bill, one on which we all worked together, and
I appreciate that Senator Sanders worked very hard on that bill. The
Veterans Choice Program was part of that bipartisan bill, but this
program has yet to be implemented in the way this body intended. The
goal was to expedite care for veterans who had been waiting longer than
30 days or who live farther than 40 miles away from the VA hospital. In
my home State of New Hampshire, we don't have a full-service veterans
hospital, so too often our veterans are driving long distances--to
Massachusetts or to other locations--to get the care they earned for
having served and sacrificed so much for our country.

Recently, a study conducted by the VFW found that 92 percent of
program-eligible veterans were interested in non-VA or private care
options that they could go to. Yet that same survey found that 80
percent of eligible veterans were unable to access the Veterans Choice
Program.

Barely 2 months after the program started--and we worked on it on a
bipartisan basis in this Congress--the administration announced plans
to divert money from this important program by saying it was
underutilized. Let's be clear. It is underutilized because the VA is
not implementing it properly. Veterans are not being told their rights,
and we owe it to them to get this Veterans Choice Program right and
give veterans the choice they want for private care options so they are
not driving or waiting in line, given what they have done for our
country.

Our veterans chose to fight on our behalf. We should honor the work
we did together and ensure that this program is properly implemented by
the VA, which is not happening right now. Our veterans want this
choice. Let's get this veterans program right.

I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, which, again, is an
amendment designed to support what we intended in this body--to ensure
that veterans don't have to wait in line, that they can exercise
private care options when they want to, thereby giving them the choice
for the sacrifices they have made for this country. They deserve
nothing less.

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Ms. AYOTTE. Mr. President, I urge a ``yes'' vote on amendment No.
400.

Unfortunately, the bipartisan work we have done on the Veterans
Choice Card has not been properly implemented by the VA. Our veterans
want this choice of private care. The Senator from Vermont has worked
very hard on this issue, which enjoys bipartisan support.

I urge my colleagues to make sure we get this right for our veterans.
That is what my amendment does.

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