House rejects bill to fix VA budget gap

WASHINGTON—The House rejected on Monday a plan to allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to shift $2 billion from other programs to cover a sudden budget shortfall in its Choice program of private-sector care following opposition from veterans’ groups.

The vote was 219-186 on a bill to provide a six-month funding fix, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi joined other members of her party in voicing objections after veterans expressed concerns about cuts to other parts of the VA. The Choice program offers veterans federally paid medical care outside the VA and is a priority of President Donald Trump.

Veterans’ groups Veterans’ groups are seeking additional money for both Choice and core VA programs.

House negotiators now planned to meet with the Senate, where lawmakers were crafting a separate proposal.

Put in place after a 2014 wait-time scandal at the Phoenix VA hospital, the Choice program allows veterans to receive care from outside doctors if they must wait 30 days or more for an appointment or drive more than 40 miles to a VA facility. VA Secretary David Shulkin has warned that without congressional action Choice would run out of money by mid-August, causing disruptions in medical care to thousands of patients.

Rep. Tim Walz of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the House Veterans Committee, criticized the required spending offsets and urged members to oppose the plan. He suggested it would be folly to ignore the views of major veterans’ groups and pass a flawed plan, only for it to be rejected in the Senate.

“The fact that Republican leadership is requiring offsets for direct patient care for veterans is troubling,” Walz said.

Rep. Phil Roe of Tennessee, the chairman of the veterans’ panel, had argued quick action was needed to address the shortfall. He rejected descriptions of the proposal as “privatization.”

Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia, the Republican chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, has been working to reach a compromise and his office declined to comment.

The panel’s top Democrat, Jon Tester of Montana, introduced a bill earlier this month that would provide equal levels of extra funding for Choice and VA programs.