Denham introduces bipartisan bill to extend VA reporting mandate on specialized care capabilities

Bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) on Thursday would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report to Congress on its capacity to care for severely disabled veterans.

House Resolution 5091, introduced by Denham and U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), would extend a mandate that requires the VA to report on its capacity to provide specialized treatment to meet the rehabilitative needs of severely disabled veterans.

“The number of disabled veterans nationwide has been increasing at an alarming rate,” Denham said. “This common-sense bill requires the VA to provide the comprehensive care they so clearly deserve.”

Severely disabled veterans are afflicted with issues such as spinal cord injury, blindness, traumatic brain injury and mental health disorders. To ensure that veterans’ specialized care requirements — include prosthetic, orthotic and sensory aids — are met, Congress established a reporting mandate in 1996 for the VA.

“As the son of a Navy veteran who was injured while serving our country, I know how critical it can be for our veterans to receive the best possible care when they come home,” Maloney said. “This commonsense bill will ensure we hold the VA accountable for doing their job and delivering on their promise – providing top-notch comprehensive and specialized care for our veterans who have sacrificed so much in defense of our freedoms.”

Denham and Maloney’s bill would reinstate the VA reporting mandate from 1996, which has since lapsed.

“VA is currently not required to tell Congress how or if it has adequate capacity to provide care for catastrophically disabled veterans,” Carl Blake, the associate executive director of government relations at Paralyzed Veterans of America, said. “In the eight years since the report’s expiration, bed closures, staff shortages, and denied access to care have been continuously reported. Reinstating this report will provide Congress with the information necessary to conduct thorough oversight of VA specialized services. This is a high priority for PVA and we applaud Rep. Denham for taking up such a critical issue.”