Richard Wilson, 64, survived two tours in Vietnam but he’s afraid he won’t survive the wait at his local VA hospital. Warned seven months ago that circulation blockages in his legs put him at imminent risk of a fatal heart attack or amputations, he called and e-mailed the VA daily. Half a year went by before the VA even contacted him, and he’s still waiting for his surgery.
A compromise announced on the Senate floor Thursday afternoon may give vets like Wilson hope for speedier treatment, but the actual bill has not been drafted yet. The devil will be in the details.
The compromise breaks a deadlock between Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and Republican Sens. John McCain (Ariz.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.).
Until late Thursday, Sanders was resisting calls to fire VA employees linked to the secret wait lists, and opposing GOP proposals to let vets seek care from civilian doctors and hospitals if the wait at the VA exceeds 30 days.
Instead, Sanders was demanding more of what doesn’t work — increasing the VA budget and staff, and opening more VA clinics and hospitals. Sanders is a self-described Socialist, and nine of his top 10 contributors are unions. His agenda is protecting union jobs, not ailing vets.
On May 22, Sanders scuffled with Rubio over legislation to let the VA fire those linked to the secret lists. The bill had sailed through the House with bipartisan support; the American Legion and other vet groups backed it. But Sanders complained he hadn’t read it. Rubio offered to wait while he did. The bill is only 351 words long.
Rubio insists a new VA director has to be able to “fire executives underneath him if they haven’t done their job — a power he doesn’t have right now.” But Sanders killed the bill, saying he wants to keep the “due process” rules — months of hearings and paperwork — that make firing federal workers as impossible as firing New York City public-school teachers.
The compromise would permit the immediate firing of up to 450 administrators for manipulating wait lists or lying about it. Those fired will get an expedited appeals process and no salary while appealing.
Sanders had pushed for expanding VA enrollment to include vets with no combat-related problems or financial need. Higher enrollment automatically would translate into a bigger VA budget and more union jobs.
But advocates insisted that would harm waiting vets like Wilson. Stewart Hickey, executive director of American Veterans, explained, “You have an already stressed bureaucracy, then you’re going to throw more on it for them to do. You’re just going to compound the problem.” The compromise apparently heeds that advice.
Sanders demanded emergency funding and got it — $500 million to hire more medical staff. No question there’s an emergency at the VA. But it’s about malfeasance, not lack of money. Congress has increased funding faster than the growth in VA patients. Generally, the VA has had about half a billion dollars left over at the end of the fiscal year.
Sanders also pushed for more VA hospitals and clinics. The compromise includes opening 26 more facilities in 18 states. Sadly, there is no mention of changing work rules to keep operating rooms open longer hours. In some facilities, they shut down at 3 pm despite vets urgently needing surgery.
To help these waiting vets, McCain and House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) proposed giving vets stuck in the backlog Choice Cards, enabling them to choose civilian care. Most VA hospitals have relationships with nearby teaching hospitals where older vets could get cardiovascular and cancer surgery with better survival rates than at the most VAs. The Choice Card is a key part of the compromise.
Sanders’ union allies have long opposed sending vets for outside care, and Sanders resisted the Choice Card idea. Vets must make sure the bill’s fine print doesn’t sabotage choice by underpaying non-VA doctors or ensaring them in VA red tape.
The battle in Congress over VA reform came down to pandering to unions or helping vets like Richard Wilson. Thursday’s compromise looks like a partial win for vets, paid for with concessions to the unions that make the VA dysfunctional.