{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mcgarvey.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-morgan-mcgarvey-introduces-bill-to-improve-vas-emergency-response", "Congressman Morgan McGarvey Introduces Bill to Improve VA\u2019s Emergency Response", "2024-12-11", "2024", "2024-12", "Democrat", "House", "KY", "Morgan McGarvey", "M001220", "mcgarvey.house.gov", "mcgarvey", "https://mcgarvey.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC (December 11, 2024) \u2013 Today, Congressman Morgan McGarvey (KY-03) introduced the Advancing VA\u2019s Emergency Response to (AVERT) Crises Act, a bipartisan, bicameral initiative to improve VA\u2019s response to natural disasters, pandemics, and other emergencies to ensure continuity of VA medical care for veterans.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m proud to partner with Senator Tester to ensure that VA is fully equipped to respond to crises and continue serving our nation\u2019s veterans,\u201d said Congressman Morgan McGarvey. \u201cWhether it\u2019s flooding in eastern Kentucky, tornadoes in Louisville, hurricanes on the coast, or fires out west, increasingly frequent natural disasters are devastating our communities and leaving too many without the care and services they need. There\u2019s no time like the present to invest in our nation\u2019s ability to respond to these emergencies and take care of the men and women who put on a uniform to take care of us. \u201d\n\nThe Veterans Health Administration provides direct health services to over 9 million veterans with over 1,300 health care facilities, including Louisville\u2019s Robley Rex Veterans Affairs Medical Center. It is the nation\u2019s largest integrated healthcare system.\n\nThe AVERT Crises Act would ensure that the VA is better prepared to activate their Fourth Mission authority\u2014VA\u2019s role in improving the nation\u2019s response to emergencies. The bill would require VA to implement fully operational emergency communications systems throughout VA medical facilities, and improve VA\u2019s emergency cache program\u2014stored reserves at VA medical facilities containing drugs and medical supplies to be used during an emergency.\n\nThe bill is the House companion bill of S. 3341, introduced by Senators Jon Tester (D-MT), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Maisie Hirono (D-HI).\n\n\u201cIn the last few years, we\u2019ve seen disasters strike all parts of this country, from the COVID-19 pandemic to massive flooding in my home state of Montana. Due to its size and reach, VA is in a prime position to respond to these crises,\u201d said Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee Chairman Tester. \u201cI\u2019m proud our bill will ensure that VA is prepared to respond to these emergencies while continuing to provide high-quality care for veterans.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe COVID-19 pandemic and recent natural disasters have tested the limits of the Department of Veterans Affairs ability to activate their Fourth Mission and appropriately respond to emergencies and disasters,\u201d said Jon Retzer, Deputy National Legislative Director for Health, Disabled American Veterans (DAV). \u201cDAV is thankful for Rep. McGarvey for sponsoring the Advancing VA\u2019s Emergency Response to (AVERT) Act of 2024, which aims to address lesson learned from these emergencies and disasters to ensure that communication systems are effective and that continuity of VA medical care is maintained for our nation\u2019s veterans during these activations.\u201d\n\nThe AVERT Crises Act would:\n\nRequire VA to implement a fully operational emergency communications system throughout their medical facilities;\n\nRequire VA to report to Congress on the current status of its Regional Readiness Centers, and on recommendations for improving the alignment of its offices involved with emergency management to ensure there is not redundancy between offices;\n\nRequire VA to ensure its emergency pharmacy vehicles and emergency caches are fully stocked with unexpired inventory; and\n\nRequire VA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to analyze cross-Department coordination during emergencies.\n\nThe AVERT Crises Act is endorsed by Disabled American Veterans (DAV).\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T22:13:55Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mcgarvey.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-morgan-mcgarvey-introduces-bill-to-improve-vas-emergency-response"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.632115337997675, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}