"... senators should focus on the needs of veterans. 'Let's not make them political footballs'"

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Political odd couple reaches deal on vets' care
By Nicole Gaudiano, June 5, 2014

In a rare congressional "Kumbaya" moment, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, and Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and Vietnam War veteran, set aside stark political differences Thursday to reach a compromise on veterans' health care legislation.

Both said that they weren't happy with every provision in the bill but that it would begin to address the crisis of long wait times for veterans' health care. A recent inspector general report found that veterans have been waiting as long as four months to receive treatment and that VA workers in some instances altered records to hide long waiting times. As many as 40 veterans in Phoenix may have died awaiting care.

"Sen. McCain's views on many issues are not my views," Sanders, I-Vt., said during a Senate floor speech. "We look at the world differently, but that is what democracy is about. And our job was to sit down and work out the best agreement."

McCain, who was a prisoner of war, said he respects Sanders' committee leadership and the fact that Sanders is "known as a fighter."

"And it's been a pleasure to do combat with him," McCain said, drawing laughter on the Senate floor. "At the end of the day ... we were able to come together I believe in a way that will help relieve this terrible tragedy that seems to have befallen our nation's veterans."

Sanders said during an interview that he has had "a whole lot of trouble, for whatever reason," working on veterans' legislation with the top-ranked Republican on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina. As the current crisis unfolded, McCain approached Sanders on the Senate floor and asked to work together on a compromise. The two met a number of times the past several days to work out a deal.

They agreed that veterans facing long wait times at the VA should be able to access care, if they want, at a community health center, military medical facility, facilities funded by the Indian Health Service or a private doctor.

One concession for Sanders was a McCain provision allowing veterans, regardless of wait times, to seek care outside the VA if they live more than 40 miles from a VA hospital or clinic.

"If we take that principle and expand it, some would take it into the privatization of the VA and make the VA an insurance company rather than a provider of health care," he said, a prospect he predicted would be a "disaster."

As drafted, however, he said the provision will make care more convenient for veterans living in rural areas.

Sanders said he fought for provisions to hire more doctors, add new medical facilities and help military victims of sexual assault.

Sanders and McCain said the bill is open to amendments. But they urged colleagues to avoid amendments that aren't germane.

"Let's not get hung up on certain other aspects of our differences that have characterized what most people would view as gridlock in this body," McCain said on the Senate floor.

Sanders said senators should focus on the needs of veterans. "Let's not make them political footballs," he said.
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