WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate acted Wednesday to help
thousands of military veterans enduring long wait times for VA medical
care, as the FBI revealed it has opened a criminal investigation into a
Veterans Affairs Department reeling from allegations of falsified
records and inappropriate scheduling practices.
The Senate bill,
approved 93-3, makes it easier for veterans who have encountered delays
getting initial visits to receive VA-paid treatment from local doctors
instead. The measure closely resembles a bill approved unanimously
Tuesday in the House, prompting optimism among lawmakers from both
parties that a compromise version could be on its way soon to President
Barack Obama for his signature.
The White House said Wednesday that Obama supports the Senate bill.
The
Senate bill would authorize about $35 billion over three years to pay
for outside care for veterans, as well as hire hundreds of doctors and
nurses and lease 26 new health facilities in 17 states and Puerto Rico.
The House bill would spend about $620 million over the same period.
The
Veterans Affairs Department released an audit this week showing that
more than 57,000 veterans have had to wait at least three months for
initial appointments. Another 64,000 veterans who asked for appointments
over the past decade never got them.
"The cost of war does not
end when the last shots are fired and the last missiles are launched,"
said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs
Committee. "The cost of war continues until the last veteran receives
the care and the benefits that he or she is entitled to and has earned
on the battlefield."
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who drafted the
bill with Sanders, called the bill "a beginning — not an end — to the
efforts that must be taken" to address the crisis affecting veterans’
health care.
While the legislation will not solve all the VA’s
problems, it should "spark long-overdue change — from the top down — in
order to ensure our veterans are getting the care and support they
expect and deserve," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
Support for
the bill was not unanimous. Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions and other
Republicans complained that the measure was a "blank check" to spend
billions of dollars with little or no way to rein it in.
"Make no mistake: This is an emergency," McCain retorted.
Sen.
Tom Coburn, R-Okla., supported the bill, but said "money is not the
problem" at the VA. "It’s management and accountability and honesty in
treating the veterans" that are needed to improve care for veterans,
Coburn said.
In addition to Sessions, Republican Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin voted no.

Four
senators did not vote: Republicans Thad Cochran of Mississippi and
Jerry Moran of Kansas, and Democrats Claire McCaskill of Missouri and
Jeff Merkley of Oregon.
The final tally was delayed for more than
an hour as the Senate waited for Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to vote.
Graham was returning to Washington after Tuesday’s GOP primary in South
Carolina and was caught up in rush-hour traffic.
The Senate vote
came as the FBI revealed it has opened a criminal investigation into the
VA. FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday that the investigation was
being led by the FBI’s field office in Phoenix, which he described as
the "primary locus of the original allegations" being investigated by
the VA’s Office of Inspector General.
"We’re working with the VA IG to follow it wherever the facts take us," Comey told the House
Judiciary Committee.
The
inspector general said in a report last month that 1,700 veterans
seeking treatment at the Phoenix VA hospital were at risk of being "lost
or forgotten." The VA has confirmed that at least 35 veterans died
while awaiting treatment in Phoenix, although officials say they do not
know whether the deaths were related to long waiting times for
appointments.
The Justice Department had said that federal
prosecutors were reviewing documents from the inspector general to
determine whether to launch a full-fledged investigation. The
involvement of the FBI represents an escalation into concerns of
possible criminal conduct by VA employees, though it remains unclear
whether investigators will find any basis for prosecution.
Richard
Griffin, the VA’s acting inspector general, issued a scathing report
last month that confirmed allegations of excessive waiting time at VA
hospitals and inappropriate scheduling practices. He told lawmakers his
investigators were probing for wrongdoing at 69 agency medical
facilities, up from 42 two weeks ago
The VA, which serves almost 9
million veterans, has been reeling from mounting evidence that workers
falsified reports on wait times for medical appointments in an effort to
mask frequent, long delays. An internal audit released this week showed
that more than 57,000 new applicants for care have had to wait at least
three months for initial appointments and an additional 64,000 newly
enrolled vets who requested appointments never got them.
VA
Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned May 30, but the situation remains a
continuing embarrassment for Obama and a potential political liability
for congressional Democrats seeking re-election in November.
The
Senate bill, like the House measure approved Tuesday, would let veterans
facing long delays for appointments or living more than 40 miles from a
VA facility choose to get care from non-agency providers for the next
two years. Some veterans already get outside care, but the process is
cumbersome and riddled with delays, veterans and their advocates say.
The
Senate bill also would restrict controversial bonuses given to VA
employees for meeting certain performance goals and would make it easier
to fire top VA officials. Legislation approved in the House would ban
bonuses outright through 2016 and would not include employee safeguards
provided in the Senate bill.
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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.