Military Times has reported the launch will be delayed at least until 2023. McDonough said there is no set timeline for when the VA will continue to roll out its new electronic records-keeping system after its launch was postponed at the Boise VA and across the country. VA Secretary McDonough: There’s no timetable for re-launch of records-keeping system McDonough said he was given no notice from the senators who voted against the bill about their concerns. “This provision is completely unnecessary to achieve the PACT Act’s stated goal of expanding health care and other benefits for veterans.” “The PACT Act as written includes a budget gimmick that would allow $400 billion of current law spending to be moved from the discretionary to the mandatory spending category,” Toomey said in a press release Wednesday. Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania, raised issues with the funding mechanism of the bill, asking for the legislation to be paid by discretionary funds, which can change from year to year, rather than a mandatory funding mechanism, like that which pays for programs like Social Security. The bill was voted down after retiring U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, changed his yes vote to a no vote before the final tally, a procedural move that will allow him to bring the bill back at a later date. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, who voted against the bill. There were 41 Republicans, including Idaho Sens. On Wednesday, the Senate voted 55-42 to advance the bill toward final passage, but that did not meet the 60-vote threshold required by Senate filibuster rules and the legislation stalled, States Newsroom reported.
lawmakers debated whether to bring amendments to the floor and how exactly to fix a minor part of the bill that stalled the process in the House, according to previous States Newsroom reporting. Jerry Moran, has been bogged down for nearly two months as U.S. Our veterans have waited long enough.” In this file photo, a soldier in the Afghan National Army walks past a burn pit at a command outpost handed over to the ANA from the United States Army on March 22, 2013, in Kandahar Province, Zhari District, Afghanistan. “I just urge the Senate to get on with it. “We’re getting ready to do this,” he said. The secretary said the Department of Veterans Affairs has added staff to ensure it is ready for the increased claims made by veterans under the new bill.
“So I’d urge the Senate to get going and to get this done.” “They’ve now waited long enough to get access to care and access to benefits,” McDonough said during a press conference. In a visit to the Boise VA Medical Center on Thursday, McDonough said killing the legislation, known as the PACT Act, will “inexplicably” delay necessary health care to veterans who have faced 30 years of war and exposure to toxic particulates from burn pits, largely in the Middle East. Senate’s unexpected decision to kill a bill that would have provided health care and benefits to 3.5 million veterans who have been exposed to toxic burn pits while stationed around the world.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough forcefully denounced the U.S.