Collins Votes for Veterans Access to Care Act

Press Release

Congressman Doug Collins (GA-09) today stood up for the veterans in the 9th District and across the United States by voting for H.R. 4810, The Veterans Access to Care Act.

The Veterans Access to Care Act, which passed the House of Representatives unanimously, follows up to another recent bill allowing the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the authority to fire VA officials whose poor performances are creating the unacceptable backlog of cases at the VA. Additionally, it bans bonuses for VA executives who have presided over this backlog.

H.R. 4810 requires the VA to allow enrolled veterans the opportunity to receive care, at the VA's expense, at a non-VA health facility if they cannot get an appointment during the current 14 day waiting period or have to drive more than 40 miles from their homes to a VA facility.

Congressman Collins said, "It's heartbreaking that more than half of the casework calls that my district office gets are veterans who can't get the care they deserve from the VA. These veterans fulfilled their responsibility to their country, and the government has to do the same for them. We need structural changes at the VA, and that starts with the accountability that this bill provides and the flexibility it will give veterans who can't wait any longer for the VA to get its act together.

Congressman Collins addressed the VA issue this morning on C-SPAN's Washington Journal. A clip from that segment can be found here.

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