(Washington, DC) – Today the Senate passed the Jeff Miller and Richard Blumenthal Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2016, H.R.6416. The legislation addresses a variety of areas in veterans’ services that are in need of reforms or improvements. Senator Dean Heller fought to include four key provisions in this bill to help veterans.

“One of my most trusted responsibilities as a United States Senator is to serve as the leading voice for veteran population of our state. With over 300,000 veterans calling Nevada home and with my seat on the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, I will continue to advocate on behalf of our nation’s heroes. These provisions range from addressing the safety and quality of care at the Reno VA Medical Center, to creating a better and more efficient system to handle surges in disability claims so veterans don’t experience a backlog. I’m proud of this work and look forward to seeing the President sign this legislation into law,” said Senator Dean Heller.   

Background:

Heller provisions included:

• 21^st Century Veterans Benefits Delivery Act (S.1203) – Senators Heller and Casey, as Co-Chairs of the Senate VA Backlog Working Group, championed this comprehensive legislation designed to reform the VA disability claims process and create a system that can withstand surges in disability claims without generating another claims backlog.
• The Veterans Small Business Opportunity and Protection Act (S. 296) – Authored by Senators Heller and Joe Manchin (D-WV), this legislation expands certain eligibility as a veteran-owned business for surviving spouses and dependents. 
• Veterans Affairs Research Transparency Act of 2015 (S. 114) – Senator Heller’s legislation promotes greater transparency and sharing of research related to veterans, their health, and other issues by requiring the VA to make taxpayer-funded research for the VA publicly available.
• Reno VA Authorization (S.3438) – This legislation ensures the construction at the Reno VA Medical Center to improve the safety and quality of the facility can move forward.

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