President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday that overhauls parts of the Department of Veterans Affairs and how veterans access health care.
"All during the campaign, I'd go out and say, 'Why can't they just go see a doctor instead of standing in line for weeks and weeks and weeks?' Now they can go see a doctor," the president said before signing.
The law, known as the VA MISSION Act, requires VA leadership to come up with new rules for when veterans can go see a private doctor. It also mandates $5.2 billion in funding for Veterans Choice — a program allowing some veterans to see doctors outside the VA.
The signing of the bill fulfills one of the president's major campaign promises to help expand veterans' access to the private health care market instead of having to go to the VA.
The new law also creates a commission for reviewing VA facilities and making improvements Congress hopes will make it easier to recruit health care professionals to the VA.
