Rogers / 3 Senator Conley

S.R._____

A BILL
To regulate spending and funding of the Veterans Administration hospitals to better care for combat soldiers.

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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This act may be cited as the Veterans Care Improvement Act of 2017.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS
Congress hereby finds and declares that,
1) The Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed that it failed to contact tens of thousands of more than
300,000 of whom died before getting a resolution.
2) U.S. Veterans are dying because of delays in diagnosis and treatment at VA hospitals.
3) Billions pumped into the VA since the wait-list scandal erupted two years ago have failed to relieve
many of the problems in delivering healthcare to veterans.
4) 50% of those with PTSD do not seek treatment.
5) A recent federal probe into alleged misconduct at a Department of Veterans Affairs facility in
Cincinnati is focusing on allegations of drugs being improperly prescribed to patients.
6) At one facility in Phoenix, for example, veterans waited an average of 115 days for an appointment.
7) He said a suicide attempt by a veteran at the facility was covered up by the hospital after a VA
psychiatrist failed to provide follow-up treatment.
8) A review of medical records of several elderly patients who died also found evidence of poor care and
lack of follow-up for serious medical conditions.
9) It gave the VA $10 billion to set up a program that would give qualified veterans the option of seeing a
private doctor.
10) The VA is still struggling with a lack of accountability, an inability to properly manage a budget rapidly
approaching $200 billion, and a failure to provide veterans with timely access to care and benefits
11) Although soldiers are trained and prepared through physical conditioning, practice, and various
methods of building crucial unit cohesion and buddy-based support, inevitably, war-zone experiences
create demands and tax soldiers and unit morale in shocking ways.
12) The President's 2017 Budget includes $182.3 billion for VA in 2017. This includes $78.7 billion in
discretionary resources and $103.6 billion in mandatory funding.
SECTION 3. STATUTORY LANGUAGE
A) The Veteran's Care Act of 2017 shall allow better care for Veterans who have experienced physical and
mental injuries while in combat. It shall improve by providing more funding towards hospitals and hiring
more doctors who are trained to deal with mental illnesses including PTSD. These doctors shall be highly
qualified and able to be on call at any time. Veterans post-war suffer many psychological problems and are
not treated. All combat soldier returning for duty shall see a doctor and receive special care within the first
month of returning home. The soldiers (Air Force, Navy, Army, and Coast Guard) shall be sought out to
for immediate care. Soldiers with crucial life-threatening injuries shall seek immediate attention. There
shall be 15 new hospitals and 300 new qualified doctors to tend to the soldiers.
B) This law shall be enforced and upheld by the Veterans Administration. The funds shall be from the
President of the United States. The bill shall increase funds from 4.9% to 10% in the next year. The current
funding is $182.3 billion.
C) If funding is not used appropriately, 70% of funds shall be returned and refunded. This act must be
enacted immediately upon official approval from the President and or Congress. In order to keep updated,
the bill shall be revised every 6 months according to if the problem is solved.

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