House Approves Committee To Negotiate VA Reform Legislation

By Carrie Jung
Published: Wednesday, June 18, 2014 - 6:31pm
Audio icon Download mp3 (800.78 KB)

Negotiations on a final version of VA reform legislation will be starting soon. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the formation of a conference committee on Wednesday charged with settling the differences between House and Senate VA bills.

Some of the differences that need to be settled surround the costs of the bills and where that funding will come from. The committee must also work through differences involving due-process requirements for VA staff if they’re considered for termination.

Both bills include provisions that would allow vets to seek care outside of the VA if they live more than 40 miles from a VA medical center, or if they’ve experienced an excessive wait time.

A bipartisan group has already been tapped from the House. The senate will be finalizing their selection by the end of the week.