Bill to Provide for Veterans Passes House with Schilling/Schock Amendment

Washington, DC - The House of Representatives last night passed H.R. 5854, the Fiscal Year 2013 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill, by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 407-12.  Congressman Bobby Schilling (IL-17) teamed up with Congressman Aaron Schock (IL-18) and successfully included an amendment to the bill that directs $16 million within the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Rural Health to expand two pilot programs known as Project ARCH (Access Received Closer to Home) and Project HERO (Healthcare Effectiveness through Resource Optimization).  

In December, Schilling introduced H.R. 3723, the Enhanced Veteran Health Care Experience Act, based on the success of Project HERO and the promise of Project ARCH.  The Schock/Schilling amendment will expand these two successful programs, supporting the goal of Schilling's legislation, which allows but doesn't require veterans to access the health care they need in their hometowns with their own doctors.  Schock is a cosponsor of Schilling's bill.

"You can tell a lot about a country by looking at how it treats its veterans," Schilling said. "Our veterans have given so much for our country, and we must follow through with our promise to provide them with the care they need.  I've talked to many constituents in the 17th District who, like me, believe we must continue to make improvements to our veterans' health care.  The amendment Congressman Schock and I included would do just that, helping more veterans receive the care they need and deserve closer to home."

In April 2011, the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General released an audit of its Office of Rural Health (where both Projects HERO and ARCH are funded) indicating that "at the end of FY 2010, Office of Rural Health (ORH) did not obligate $16 million of the $533 million received during FYs 2009 and 2010 which constituted in missed opportunities for ORH to improve access and quality of care for rural veterans by not having sufficient controls to ensure the use of all available appropriated funds."  The Schilling-Schock amendment directs $16 million to expand Projects HERO and ARCH in an effort to provide veterans with more convenient access to health care.

Project ARCH allows veterans in five veterans integrated service networks (VISNs) to receive their health care from non-VA health care providers.  To participate the veterans must enroll and meet the VA's distance travel criteria.  Project HERO allows veterans to access specialized medical services outside of the VA health system.  The VA contracted with Humana Veterans Healthcare Services (HVHS) to enable veterans to go to one of their prescreened network providers for care.  To participate, the veteran must be located in one of the four VISNs the program is running in.

Schilling and Shock spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives last night in support of their amendment.  Video of their remarks can be seen here.