Bipartisan Bill to Improve Transparency at VA Gains Momentum in U.S. Senate

Sens. Kelly and Blackburn and Reps. Gallego and Joyce Applaud Passage by Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Urge Senate Floor Vote 

Today Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Representatives Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) applauded the progress made on their bipartisan VA Quality Health Care Accountability and Transparency Act as it was passed by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee with unanimous support. The legislation was introduced by the group in April to improve the way the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) shares its performance metrics with veterans, their caregivers, and the public. 

“Today’s bipartisan vote in the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee brings us one step closer to improving transparency and accountability so that the failures of the past won’t be repeated,” said Senator Mark Kelly, a veteran and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “The reforms our bipartisan bill will implement are critical to delivering quality care for veterans in Arizona, and I will continue working to get this legislation passed through the Senate.”

“The growing veteran community that calls Tennessee home deserves transparency from the Department of Veteran Affairs,” said Senator Blackburn. “The VA Quality Health Care Accountability and Transparency Act will require the VA to work with veterans, veterans service organizations, and caregivers of veterans to improve the Access to Care website. This is a good step forward, but more work needs to be done to ensure our heroes have access to useable health care data.”

“Veterans, their family members, and the American people should always have access to reliable information about how well the VA is performing,” said Congressman Ruben Gallego, a Marine combat veteran and member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. “I am glad to see progress on this legislation that will increase transparency and accountability at the VA, enable veterans to make informed decisions about their health, and improve the quality of care the VA provides. Those who have bravely defended our nation deserve nothing less.”

“I was proud to introduce the VA Quality Health Care Accountability and Transparency Act alongside Rep. Gallego and our colleagues in the Senate, and was pleased to see our bill pass out of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs with bipartisan support,” said Congressman Dave Joyce. “Taking care of the brave men and women who have defended our country is the ultimate bipartisan cause. I look forward to getting this bill across the finish line so that we can ensure our veterans have the information they need to make informed decisions about their health.”

The bill was first introduced in the 116^th Congress in response to a 2017 Government Accountability Office report which found that the VA was failing to disclose wait time, patient safety, and quality of care information in an accessible and easy-to-use manner. 

The bill would require the VA to work with veteran service organizations (VSOs), veterans, and caregivers to improve display of staffing and vacancy information, patient wait times, and patient safety and quality of care measures and outcomes in a way that is accessible and easy to use for veterans. It would also require the VA to annually audit the data that it releases to the public to ensure that it is accurate and complete.