July 28, 2014

Veterans’ Affairs Conference Committee Reaches Agreement on VA Bill

Washington D.C. – The Conference Committee tasked with reconciling bills from the House and Senate announced today that they have reached agreement on final legislation to tackle the ongoing crisis at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME), Ranking Member on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, worked over the weekend with Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Jeff Miller (R-FL) to finalize the deal, which the complete conference is expected to vote on later today. Rep. Michaud released the following statement on the deal this afternoon:

“We have reached bipartisan consensus on a final bill to address many of the immediate problems facing the Department of Veterans Affairs – and this is an important step toward ensuring that the millions of veterans who rely on the VA for critical services and benefits get the outcomes they deserve.

“This is how our legislative process is supposed to work. We all worked together – Republicans and Democrats alike – to put our political differences aside, compromise, and come up with legislation that our veterans deserve. It has been a long road getting here – we have held many oversight hearings, received invaluable feedback from veterans and many others involved with the VA, and collaborated across the aisle to craft a way forward for VA. At the end of the day, our nation’s commitment to providing high-quality services to our veterans – and taking swift action when our veterans are harmed – trumped politics.

“While today’s agreement is an important milestone, it is only one of the first steps we must take to truly reform the VA. We all have an obligation to keep the pressure on, even as the cable TV cameras may turn their attention away. The real change will happen over the coming months and years, and we must continue engaging with the VA – identifying what practices are working and making course-corrections when some don’t – to ensure the promise of high-quality care to our veterans is fulfilled.”