Obama signs veterans bill into law

President Barack Obama on Thursday signed into law a bill to overhaul the Department of Veterans Affairs, in what amounted to a rare display of bipartisanship amid the current congressional gridlock.

The signing, which took place at Fort Belvoir, Va., capped off months of heated negotiations. The president was flanked by his newly installed VA secretary, Robert McDonald, and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

The Republican chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida, was unable to attend because of previously scheduled trips, including a visit to an Army medical center in Texas.

In a speech ahead of the signing, Obama said the bill was passed with bipartisan majorities — which “doesn’t happen often in Congress.” As he signed the measure, he joked that the members of Congress in attendance ought to send him more bills to sign — a dig at the congressional gridlock that has dogged much of his tenure.

The president said the bill marks a first step toward fixing the problems at the VA and highlighted the work still left to be done, including ending veteran homelessness, eliminating the backlog of VA disability claims and helping more veterans get jobs. He also urged the Senate to confirm several pending nominees for senior VA posts, including Linda Schwartz, selected to be assistant secretary of veterans affairs for policy and planning.

“As soon as the Senate gets back in September, they should act to put these outstanding public servants in place,” Obama said. “They’re ready to serve; they’re ready to get to work.”

The legislation was written after allegations earlier this year that some veterans may have died waiting for health care, generating outrage that led to the May resignation of McDonald’s predecessor, Eric Shinseki. Though negotiations about the bill’s terms at one point almost broke down, lawmakers on Capitol Hill eventually struck a breakthrough compromise, seeking to avoid going home for the August recess without addressing the VA’s issues.

The $16 billion measure, passed on the Hill last week, makes it easier for the VA secretary to fire or demote top officials accused of mismanagement — a response to the allegations that VA officials falsified records to make it appear they were meeting agency goals for providing care.

The bill also authorizes new VA clinics, provides funding to hire more health care providers and allows veterans who have faced lengthy waits to seek doctors outside the VA health system, among other provisions.

“America has to do right by all who serve under our proud flag,” Obama said Thursday.

In a statement, Miller said the signing ceremony should be a “wake-up call” and accused the Obama administration of ignoring the department’s challenges “at every turn.”

“I am pleased President Obama has finally recognized what we have been telling administration officials for years: that VA’s widespread and systemic lack of accountability is jeopardizing the health of veterans and contributing to all of the department’s most pressing problems,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sanders said he was “glad we accomplished something significant for veterans” in a “dysfunctional Congress.”

“This legislation will go a long way toward ending unacceptably long waiting times for veterans to access health care and allow the VA the resources to hire the doctors, nurses and other medical staff it needs to address these problems over the long term,” he said.

Some veterans groups hailed the legislation, arguing that it marks an important step in fixing the VA. John Stroud, national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said in a statement that the law will help McDonald “fix what’s broken, hold people accountable and restore the faith that veterans must have in their VA.”

Still, some cautioned that there remains more work ahead. Paul Rieckhoff, chief executive and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said in a statement that the legislation represents a “good first step toward healing the VA,” but it’s not a “silver bullet.”

“It is merely a Band-Aid and one that will soon fall off,” Rieckhoff said. “American leaders must continue to focus on the VA and veterans issues more broadly.”