H.R. 3236 – Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act: NO

7/29/15 H.R. 3236 – Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act: NO This bill pays for three months of highway and transit spending with savings promised ten years from now – and according to the CBO, still adds at least $1.2 billion to the nation's debt. Further, it guarantees another funding cliff this fall, adding to the debt limit and fiscal year deadlines we already face.

Last year, Congress created the VA Choice program to give veterans the option of getting treatment outside the VA system if they're kept waiting too long or are too far from a facility. This measure robs the Choice Program of $3.4 billion to back-fill losses due to poor administration of the VA (without reforming that administration) while expanding Choice eligibility, setting the stage for massive shortfalls in future years.