Bishop and Bellone Step-Up Efforts on Behalf of Veterans

Photo: DVIDSHUP/Flickr Creative Commons

On Wednesday, the United States House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a vote, 420-5, to help veteran’s access healthcare. The bill will now go to the Senate where it is expected to pass with bi-partisan support before members leave for the five week summer recess.

The bill was created in response to the scandal surrounding wait times for healthcare and the systematic response by Veteran’s Affairs executives to bury the evidence rather than address the problems besetting the system which came to light in May.

East End Congressman Tim Bishop, of New York State’s first legislative district said the bill, the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014, will restore full and prompt access to medical care for veterans. Provisions include access to care at non-VA facilities as long as the veteran is enrolled in the VA health care system as of August 1, 2014, is a newly discharged combat veteran unable to secure a VA appointment within 30 days, or resides more than 40 miles from the nearest VA facility.

Additionally, The New York Times reports the bill grants the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Robert A. McDonald, broad new authority to fire and demote senior executives.

Congressman Bishop said the bill also creates the Congressional Commission on Care, which will carefully evaluate access to care throughout the VA health care system. This legislation, he said, is the first step toward meeting our obligations to veterans.

The bill was created in the wake of allegations that surfaced in May, that veterans’ hospitals around the country manipulated data and created secret waiting lists to hide long delays involving 26 facilities which was reported by Reuters. A full compilation of the reports documenting the system’s shortcomings was published in The New York Times.

The allegations included delays in treatment at VA hospitals that led to otherwise preventable deaths, including patients 40 who died while awaiting care.

The VA, which runs the largest health care group in the country overseeing 1,700 healthcare facilities including clinics, hospitals and nursing homes has long struggled to defend itself against critics who contend it is an institution entrenched in bureaucracy which has failed to innovate and modernize to keep up with the needs to service members who have served in Iraq and Afganistan.

Congressman Bishop said there is still work to be done to restore the “confidence and excellence in delivery of care that rises to the level of the valor of our troops and the debt we owe to America’s veterans.”

Locally, the affairs of veterans were also the subject of an initiative by County Executive Steve Bellone’s office. Bellone, Congressman Steve Israel, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and 12 local companies signed a Veterans Hiring Pledge to support returning veterans as they look for jobs. The companies who have signed on to aid the vets include National Grid, PSEG, GSE Dynamics, Bethpage Federal Credit Union, North Shore LIJ, the New York Mets, the Perfume Center of America, Orbit International, VJ Technologies, CA Technologies, First Data, and D’Addario & Co.

Bellone said government leaders have a responsibility and honor to ensure the care of the men and women who have sacrificed to protect our daily way of life. “This pledge,” he said, “renews our commitment to help find meaningful employment for our nation’s heroes. This is the least we can do to thank them for their sacrifice and service.”

The Pledge to Support Our Veterans encourages veterans to apply for positions in the participating companies; coordinates and intensifies efforts to identify, train, and hire veterans through the Suffolk County and Nassau County Departments of Labor and Veterans Affairs. The Pledge supports engagement with local and regional groups to broaden outreach to veterans with relevant skills and experiences.

The Department of Labor, Licensing & Consumer Affairs Employment Center has already implemented additional employment services for veterans. For more information see the “Gold Card” link on their website.