WASHINGTON, July 21 – Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement today regarding negotiations on veterans legislation with Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), the House veterans committee chairman:

“Chairman Miller and I and our staffs are working very hard to reach an agreement. Given the ideological differences between the House and the Senate, these are very tough negotiations but I still hope and believe that we can come to an agreement. 

“While the Senate voted 93-3 to pay for this bill entirely with emergency funding as a cost of war, we have agreed with the House that some offsets could be included in a final bill. In addition to providing funds for contract services in the private sector, it is imperative that the VA be able to hire the doctors and nurses and other medical personnel that are needed so that we do not have the same problems at the VA in years to come that we have today.”