Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolution

Floor Speech

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Mr. KAINE. Mr. President. Physicians at the Department of Veterans Affairs depend on Therapeutic Medical Physicists to help plan and deliver critical radiation treatment to patients. Inadequate support from these medical professionals can place veterans at risk for radiation injury or inappropriate treatment. As radiation therapy has become more sophisticated and more common over the past fifteen years, the Department has struggled to recruit and retain Therapeutic Medical Physicists. The average salary in the private sector for a PhD board certified Therapeutic Medical Physicists with ten to fourteen years of work experience is approximately $190,000, but current law limits salaries for these employees at the Department to $166,500, inhibiting the Department's ability to recruit qualified individuals to fill these positions.

When faced with Therapeutic Medical Physicist shortages, the Department outsources this work to expensive contractors. Consequently, the Department substantially overspends on these services, which could be done more reliably in-house and at a much lower cost. Furthermore, contracts for TMP services are awarded for a short period, which results in frequent turnover that can be potentially dangerous from the perspective of quality care and patient safety.

Today, I am pleased to introduce the Department of Veterans Affairs Therapeutic Medical Physicist Pay Cap Relief Act with my colleague Senator Murkowski. This legislation would improve the recruitment and retention of Therapeutic Medical Physicists by allowing the Department to pay these professionals at rates competitive with the private sector. This bill would also improve the quality of care for veterans by reducing the turnover of Therapeutic Medical Physicists, and lead to lower total costs for the Department by eliminating the use of expensive contractors. With these savings, the Department could raise salaries and hire more Therapeutic Medical Physicists.

This commonsense, bipartisan legislation is an opportunity to invest in professionals who treat those who have sacrificed for our nation, and improve the standard of care we provide to our veterans. I look forward to working with my colleagues to swiftly implementing the provisions of the Department of Veterans Affairs Therapeutic Medical Physicist Pay Cap Relief Act.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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