Bill Johnson Votes to Increase Access to Health Care for our Veterans

WASHINGTON – Congressman Bill Johnson (R-Marietta) issued the following statement after voting to increase access to health care for America’s heroes, our veterans.

“Just yesterday, the VA released an audit of 731 VA hospitals and outpatient clinics across the United States. The audit revealed that more than 57,000 veterans have waited at least 90 days for their first VA medical appointments. 13 percent of the VA’s schedulers were told to falsify appointment request dates to give the impression that wait times were shorter. These findings are heart-breaking and need to be addressed immediately,” Bill Johnson said.

“Today, the House took an important step forward in addressing these issues by passing the Veterans Access to Care Act 426 to 0. This legislation would require the VA to offer non-VA care to any veteran enrolled who cannot get an appointment at the VA within the established wait time goals (14 days for an initial appointment) or to a veteran living more than 40 miles from a VA facility. Additionally, the legislation bans all bonuses for VA employees for the next two years. This common-sense, bipartisan bill immediately addresses the short-term problems plaguing the VA, and the Senate should consider it as soon as possible. This is only the tip of the iceberg, and the need for fundamental reform at the VA is absolutely necessary. I will continue working with the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and I will never waiver in my fight to defend and protect our veterans.”