The U.S. House is set to vote today on a bill that would fund veterans services. Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, says one of the key provisions of the bill expands a program that provides funding to bring health care providers to underserved areas to include veterans organizations.
Braley says many of the veterans who have the highest need live in rural areas and they are the ones who have the most trouble finding access to qualified health care providers. He says there has been progress with some of the clinics that are now available in Iowa. Braley says the bill would also help rural veterans make it to larger health facilities.
Braley says veterans in other parts of the state have trouble getting transportation to the V-A hospitals in Iowa City and Des Moines. He says this bill will improve health care in rural areas by expanding the transportion to the hospitals through grants to local veterans organizations.