A key senator and congressman on Monday announced a deal to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has been plagued with allegations of corruption and possible criminal wrongdoing.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., the co-chairmen of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Conference Committee, said they hope the agreement will help to reform the second biggest federal agency.
According to the draft agreement, $17 billion more in funding will be allocated to the VA, which has faced accusations of being understaffed, among other allegations.
CNBC has learned that the agreement includes the following:
- Emergency funding to give veterans who can't get a medical appointment at the VA the option to receive non-VA care
- More money to address VA's in-house needs
- Authority for the VA secretary to immediately fire corrupt or incompetent senior executives, while providing employees with streamlined appeal rights
- Extension of a traumatic brain injury pilot program
- $5 billion to help the VA hire more physicians
- $10 billion to cut the VA's benefits claims backlog
- Continued upgrades to the VA's patient-scheduling system
CNBC first reported on issues within the VA Healthcare System last August, culminating in a documentary "Death & Dishonor: Crisis at the VA," which was released on Veterans Day of last year.
—By CNBC's Dina Gusovsky