{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221005909/http://www.vitter.senate.gov/newsroom/press/vitter-comments-on-breakthrough-for-va-clinics-in-lafayette-lake-charles", "Vitter Comments on Breakthrough for VA Clinics in Lafayette, Lake Charles", "2013-11-20", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "LA", "David Vitter", "V000127", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Vitter Comments on Breakthrough for VA Clinics in Lafayette, Lake Charles\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tLegislation authorizing VA clinics is poised to pass the House of Representatives today. Vitter committed to pushing it through Senate.\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tWednesday, November 20, 2013\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t(Washington, D.C.) \u2013 U.S. Sen. David Vitter today commented on legislation that passed in the House of Representatives Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee authorizing 27 VA clinics across the country, including the clinics in Lafayette and Lake Charles, La. Vitter says he\u2019ll be pushing for a consent agreement in the Senate to pass the House bill. Yesterday, Vitter met with the nominee to be the Undersecretary of the Veterans Administration, Sloan Gibson, and conveyed that he expects this legislation to be passed by the House and the Senate by the end of the year. Vitter said that if it is, he\u2019ll support Gibson\u2019s nomination.\n\u201cBureaucratic errors at the VA are what threw these clinics into jeopardy in the first place, but I\u2019ll continue fighting to see their completion,\u201d Vitter said. \u201cIt\u2019s absolutely crucial for Louisiana veterans to have both of these clinics. Both would actually be nearing completion already, but because of mistakes committed by the VA, they were delayed significantly and pushed onto last year\u2019s VA funding bill, which then ran into the complication with brand new budget rules. This legislation fixes that, and I\u2019ll be offering it up for unanimous consent in the Senate as soon as possible.\u201d\nA recent ruling by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reversed authorization for twelve Department of Veterans\u2019 Affairs (VA) clinics from last year\u2019s VA funding bill, including clinics in Lafayette and Lake Charles. Vitter urged the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee to include both clinics in the committee\u2019s funding authorization bill.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://web.archive.org/web/20140221005909/http://www.vitter.senate.gov/newsroom/press/vitter-comments-on-breakthrough-for-va-clinics-in-lafayette-lake-charles"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.6804478839039803, "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"}