WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, today released a video highlighting Congress’ renewed commitment to providing the best care to our nation’s heroes with the passage of the John S. McCain III, Daniel K. Akaka and Samuel R. Johnson VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act, or the VA MISSION Act for short.

“The Senate passage of the VA MISSION Act is a major victory for our nation’s veterans who will benefit from more choice and fewer barriers to care,” said Isakson. “This is just a small token of ‘thanks’ to our nation’s veterans for answering the call and defending the freedoms we enjoy today. I look forward to this landmark legislation being signed into law very soon.”

Ahead of Memorial Day, Isakson led the Senate in the overwhelming passage of landmark legislation to strengthen veterans’ healthcare services at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) while streamlining its community care programs to ensure efficient, timely and quality care for our nation’s veterans. The VA MISSION Act  was sent to the president on May 24, 2018.

Complete video remarks are below:

Isakson: “Monday, we’re going to celebrate Memorial Day.

“We give thanks for every veteran who sacrificed their life, and gave the ultimate sacrifice, for you and for I.

“We owe them everything, because without them, we wouldn’t have the protections that we have today.

“The VA MISSION Act is the last piece of a great mosaic to reform the veterans benefits for our veterans and make them contemporary with the 21^st century and see to it that the best care, the best attention, the best legislation, is in place for our veterans.”  

News anchor: “It would scrap the Veterans Choice Program in favor of a community care program that allows veterans and their doctors to determine where a veteran’s care can be best addressed.”

Isakson: “It’s been a team effort. We’ve taken the best ideas of both sides... Getting access to veterans to care more timely, quality more important, and we’re making sure that we have the very best available to our veterans as soon as they can get it.

“Remember this: You and I are both here because of one thing, for our country full of brave volunteers, who when the bell tolls, answer the bell and go and fight for America, fight for our freedom, fight for our peace, fight for our liberty.

“Give thanks, and with your vote on that bill here, we’ll continue to pay our debt to those who have sacrificed, or offered to sacrifice the maximum sacrifice for us. To those who have fought and died, so that we could be free, and American citizens forever.

“May God bless our soldiers, may God bless our country, and may God bless the United States of America.”

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The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is chaired by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the 115th Congress. Isakson is a veteran himself – having served in the Georgia Air National Guard from 1966-1972 – and has been a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs since he joined the Senate in 2005. Isakson’s home state of Georgia is home to more than a dozen military installations representing each branch of the armed services as well as more than 750,000 veterans.