{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heller.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=b9b43d4e-ebed-4820-81ec-4565e95d50a3", "Heller Files Amendments Addressing Vets Needs and Holding VA Accountable Ahead of Veterans Day", "2015-11-05", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NV", "Dean Heller", "H001041", "www.heller.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "(Washington, DC)Recently, U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) filed four amendments to the 2016 MilitaryConstructionand Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act specifically focused on improving and enhancing the experiences of Americas veterans with regard to benefits and health care needs in addition to holding the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) accountable by prohibiting bonuses due to abuses of authority by VA employees.\r\nIt is past time the Senate had an opportunity to consider and amend an individual appropriations bill, and addressing the needs of our nations veterans is a good place to start. All of these amendments put our men and women who served in uniform first by holding the VA accountable to its commitment to deliver high quality care and benefits with integrity.\r\nMy VA accountability amendments ensure that senior executive service employees who abuse their authority are not receiving bonuses and that VA and the Department of Defense finally set clear milestones for making interoperable electronic health records a reality. Furthermore, I want to ensure every VA hospital is equipped with the proper personnel to handle the unique health care needs of our nations female veterans. Lastly, we must uphold our promise to the Filipino Veterans who served during World War II and protect their benefits from being used to fix VAs budget mishaps. As a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, these issues remain at the forefront of my policy agenda, and I hope they will be attached to the larger bill as it moves forward,stated Senator Heller.\r\nBackground on Amendments:\r\n \r\nEnsuring Accountability at VBA Amendment Prohibits bonuses to Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Senior Executive Service employees in light of revelations about abuse of authority by VBA SES employees.\r\nAchieving Interoperable Electronic Health Record Amendment  Ensures the VA is providing clear timelines and goals toward reaching an interoperable electronic health record with the Department of Defense.\r\nEnsuring Women Veterans Access to Care Amendment  Ensures every VAMC has a full-time gynecologist to meet womens health needs.\r\nProtecting Filipino Veterans Benefits Amendment  Prohibits the VA from transferring funds from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation (FVEC) Fund.\r\n \r\n###", 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://www.heller.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=b9b43d4e-ebed-4820-81ec-4565e95d50a3"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.774114090949297, "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"}