House Passes Bill 421-0 to Let Veterans Ditch VA

Are you sitting down? Good. Because the House just passed a high-profile bill unanimously. The bill allows veterans to seek treatment outside the Veterans Affairs system using government funds, Politico reports. It closely resembles a bipartisan Senate deal struck between Bernie Sanders and John McCain. The final vote tally was 421-0.

"I cannot state it strongly enough—this is a national disgrace," said the bill's chief sponsor, Republican Jeff Miller of Florida, according to the Modesto Bee. He is chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee. "We often hear that the care that veterans receive at the VA facilities is second to none," added the committee's top Democrat, Mike Michaud of Maine. But "as we have recently learned, tens of thousands of veterans are not getting in.”