Lankford Secures Major Wins for Oklahoma Veteran Community in Appropriations Bill

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) worked to secure several major provisions to support Oklahoma’s Veteran community in the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (Milcon-VA) funding bill that advanced out of the Senate Appropriations Committee. 

“Our heroes deserve access to the highest quality care when they come home. Rather than ignoring issues Veterans face with the Department of Veterans Affairs, I am focused on finding solutions and ensuring our heroes receive their benefits in a timely manner. By improving the VA’s record management, community care authorizations, and services from external contractors, Oklahoma’s heroes will be able to get access to better care when they need it,” said Lankford. “I look forward to continuing to serve Veterans through constituent services in Oklahoma and through sound policies in Washington, DC, that make the VA more efficient and cost-effective to serve our Veterans and their families.”

Highlights of some of the provisions that help Oklahoma Veterans include:

• Modernizes Medical Records Management with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): Requires the VA to assess options for modernizing medical records storage at the VA Records Management Center and urges the Department to make available options to send copies of records other than on compact discs (CDs). Other agencies send records via secure email or through hard copies, but the VA Records Management Center continues to use outdated CDs that Veterans are often unable to access due to compatibility issues. 
• Requires a Detailed Report on Revoked Community Care Authorizations: Following reports of Veterans having authorization for community care revoked, requires the VA to provide a report to the Committees on Appropriations with case-by-case explanations. Community care is often the only way rural Oklahoma Veterans can receive treatment, so understanding why authorization is revoked is essential for Veterans to receive reliable, uninterrupted care.  
• Prevents Taxpayer Funding for Failing Contractors: Prevents funding from the Milcon-VA appropriations package from being used to pay contractors whose performance has been judged to be below satisfactory, behind schedule, over budget, or has failed to meet the basic requirements of a contract. Over the past decade, the federal government has awarded billions of dollars to contractors with poor performance, which means that subpar contracting work continues to be done at military installations and VA facilities with no accountability. 

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