Senator Blunt Praises Passage Of Bill To Provide Better Care For America's Veterans

Press Release

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) today applauded the Senate passage of the "Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014," a bipartisan, bicameral agreement to begin addressing the problems at the Veterans Administration and give America's veterans better care. The House overwhelmingly approved the legislation this week, and it will now head to the White House for the president's signature.

"This debate shouldn't be about what's best for the VA -- it's about what's best for America's veterans," Blunt said. "This bill is a big step in the right direction because it gives our veterans more choice and better access to the quality of care they deserve."

In recent months, Blunt has visited the John Cochran VA Hospital in St. Louis and the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital in Columbia, Mo., and joined U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (Mo.) in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary and the VA St. Louis Health Care System demanding answers for serious allegations of delays and inefficiencies at the John Cochran VA. Blunt also pressed all of the Missouri facilities in the VA Heartland Network (VISN 15) to disclose whether or not they've had "unauthorized" waiting lists that compromised care for area veterans.

As part of his continued efforts to improve access to quality behavioral health treatment for all Americans, including military, veterans and families, Blunt introduced the bipartisan "Caring For America's Heroes Act" to bring mental health treatment in-line with the way physical injuries are treated under TRICARE. Blunt also led a bipartisan letter calling on the VA and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to explain their findings on an Institute of Medicine (IOM) study on mental health treatment for service members from Iraq and Afghanistan and their families. Blunt serves as a member of both the defense appropriations and authorizing committees.

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