{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140613030407/http://www.collins.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=3ce51872-bafa-4cee-bc4f-4b7ec5a9bf57", "Senator Collins Supports Veterans Health Care Legislation", "2014-06-11", "2014", "2014-06", "Republican", "House", "ME", "Susan Collins", "C001035", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014U.S. Senator Susan Collins voted in support of bipartisan legislation today, which she cosponsored, that would improve the quality of and access to veterans health care and address the crisis at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).\nThe bill, the Veterans\u2019 Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act, would establish a two-year pilot program providing certain veterans with a choice to seek VA-covered services through providers outside of the VA network under some circumstances.\u00a0 Among other things, the bill would allow the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to remove certain employees based upon their poor performance. \u00a0It also would facilitate the speedy hire of doctors and other medical professionals necessary to meet the needs of veterans nationwide.\u00a0\nIn addition, in another bill that would fund veterans\u2019 programs, Senator Collins is working to extend the Access Received Closer to Home (ARCH) pilot program for three years.\u00a0 The program is currently set to expire at the end of September; however, last month the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Fiscal Year 2015 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs funding bill that includes Senator Collins\u2019 request for $35 million to extend the ARCH program.\u00a0 That bill must still be approved by the full Senate.\nThe ARCH program operates at five pilot sites around the country, including Cary Medical Center in Caribou.\u00a0 Through ARCH, veterans in rural areas are able to access VA-covered health care services through non-VA providers.\n\u201cMaine has one of the highest ratios in the nation of veterans to overall population, and in a large, rural state like Maine, it is critically important that the VA goes the extra mile to see that our veterans have access to and receive the treatment that they need and deserve,\u201d said Senator Collins.\u00a0 \u201cFor veterans in northern Maine, a roundtrip, 500-mile drive, to the Togus VA Medical Center in Augusta can take eight hours or longer to complete.\u00a0 Especially for our ailing and elderly veterans, such a trip can be physically taxing, painful, or detrimental to their health, and we must do all that we can to improve access to health care they receive through the VA.\u201d", 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/20140613030407/http://www.collins.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=3ce51872-bafa-4cee-bc4f-4b7ec5a9bf57"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6132588498294353, "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"}