Kirk testifies on bill for veterans to care for each other at local VA hospitals | Courtesy of wikipedia.org
Kirk testifies on bill for veterans to care for each other at local VA hospitals | Courtesy of wikipedia.org
U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) recently testified in front of the Senate Veterans’ Affair Committee on behalf of his bill S. 297, the Frontlines to Lifelines Act of 2015, which will allow veterans to care for one another at local VA hospitals.
U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Tom Udall (D-NM), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CN) and Tim Scott (R-SC) cosponsored the bill earlier this year.
The S. 297 would expand the ICT program to last for an additional three years. It would also increase the amount of positions up to 250, a significant jump from the current 45. The bill would effectively cut any red tape for hiring VAs and transfer license and credentials information from the Department of Defense healthcare providers to the VA in question, which would serve to attract health personnel from the Department of Defense.
“The goal of this legislation is to make the transition for our corpsman from active duty even more seamless,” Kirk said. “Veterans are going to care for their fellow veterans better than anybody else. I thank the committee for taking up this legislation and look forward to supporting it on the Senate floor with my bipartisan cosponsors.”
The S. 297 bill program is currently under way at North Chicago’s Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center.
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