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Ellison's Must Read of the Day

Ellison must read
July 28, 2014

My must read of the day is "Lawmakers reach accord on Veterans Affairs bill," in the Washington Examiner:

Lawmakers have reached a bipartisan deal on a bill help end long wait lists at medical facilities run by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and his House counterpart, Rep. Jeff Miller (R., Fla.) will announce the details of the agreement on Monday, aides said.

The accord ends weeks of negotiations between the House and Senate, which had struggled to combine separate bills aimed at reforming the VA.

And it comes just days after negotiations between the House and Senate appeared to have broken down.

When I finished covering the most recent House hearing on the VA, I wasn't willing to say reform talks collapsed, but I would have told you the last week and a half provided serious road bumps that bring into question the fate of a reform bill passing before the August recess.

It's one of the few bills that most people working on the Hill, whether it's as press or as a staffer, expect to pass this Congress, but after last week’s back-and-forth bickering it is surprising they turned it around this quickly.

We still need to see the details, but policy wise the House and Senate had similar proposals. It was money that complicated discussions and led to arguing that can only be described as reminiscent of high school.

It may be surprising they have a deal, but it's certainly welcome—lawmakers will get an earful from constituents when they head home if it falls through.

Published under: Veterans Affairs