The U.S. Senate passed a bill today that will fund the Veterans Administration (VA) at record levels and offer new support for VA staff.
The 2016 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon/VA) Appropriations bill was written by U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL).
“Today the Senate put our veterans first,” Kirk said. “With $1.1 billion in funding for veterans' care above the President’s request, and special protections for whistleblowers like doctors and nurses who speak up to protect our vets, I am proud we found a bipartisan path forward.”
The bill requires the VA to give whistleblower protection to all employees, some of whom have been intimidated for reporting various VA system failures. Kirk chaired a hearing on Friday at the Edward Hines, Jr., VA Hospital near Maywood, Illinois, to discuss reports of doctors at the Hines hospital being threatened with disciplinary action for reporting a backlog of unread heart tests and several unnecessary surgeries.
Kirk's bill also invests in local military outposts, including $20 million for 38 new housing units at Rock Island Arsenal and $1.9 million for a new firing range at the Illinois Army National Guard base in Sparta.
The total value of the funding bill is $71.2 billion.
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