The U.S. House of Representatives approved an amendment from U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope, this week that would block the Department of Veterans Affairs from shifting money out of the Veterans Choice Card program and into other accounts. The amendment passed on a voice vote as part of a larger bill funding the VA and military construction projects.
Byrne, who represents Alabama’s 1st Congressional District covering Mobile and Baldwin County, said he introduced the amendment after VA Secretary Robert McDonald asked Congress for authority to redirect funds away from the Choice Card program. The program, established the previous year, was designed to let veterans see private doctors if they had waited more than 30 days for a VA appointment or lived more than 40 miles from a VA facility.
Byrne argued that pulling money from a program still in its early stages would undercut veterans before it had a chance to work as intended. He was also critical of how the VA had been interpreting the 40-mile distance rule, which the agency initially measured as a straight line rather than actual driving distance. While the VA later agreed to correct that calculation, Byrne said the agency’s broader interpretation of the rule still shortchanges veterans in his district.
He pointed to Mobile as a clear example of the problem. The area has a VA outpatient clinic, but Byrne said the facility offers only limited services. Because the clinic technically exists within the mileage threshold, the VA has treated nearby veterans as ineligible for private care even when the specific treatment they need isn’t offered there. Byrne noted that Mobile is home to several major hospitals capable of providing that care, yet the VA’s rule can keep veterans from using them.
As an example, Byrne cited veterans needing orthopedic surgery who, under the VA’s current interpretation, would have to travel to Pensacola or Biloxi rather than use hospitals closer to home in Mobile.
Byrne has also sponsored broader legislation, which he has called the Real Choice for Veterans Act, that would formally codify the driving-distance standard and require the VA to change course on cases where no local facility offers the needed service. He said he expects that bill to come up for a vote later in the year.
The House was expected to take up final passage of the underlying VA and military construction funding bill later in the week. For veterans in the Mobile and Baldwin County area who rely on the outpatient clinic for basic services, the outcome of the funding fight and the interpretation of the distance rule carries direct consequences for where they can seek care.