S.C.R. No. 52         SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION   WHEREAS, The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is charged   with ensuring the health and well-being of the nation's veterans,   but in recent years, its failure to adequately perform its mission   has been the source of scandal; and          WHEREAS, In 2014, the United States Congress responded to   unconscionable delays and denials of care at VA facilities by   passing the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act, which   allows access to private medical care providers for veterans who   have been waiting more than 30 days for an appointment or who live   more than 40 miles from a VA facility; this law is set to expire in   2017; and          WHEREAS, By expanding the reforms of the Veterans Choice Act,   Congress can improve the VA system, broadening access to timely   health care while offering greater choice and flexibility to every   eligible veteran; experts have proposed allowing access to walk-in   clinics without preauthorization or copayment, expanding VA   pharmacy hours and telemedicine, and extending the Veterans Choice   Card program to permit all qualified veterans to see the doctor of   their choice; in addition, those who have studied the system   carefully encourage best-practices peer review for VA facilities;   and          WHEREAS, Our nation's veterans have made enormous sacrifices   to guarantee our freedoms, and although the nation can never fully   repay its debt of gratitude, it can and should ensure timely access   to the highest quality of medical care; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to enact   legislation to ensure that all veterans receive in a timely manner   the level of medical care that they have earned and that they so   richly deserve; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official   copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to   the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of   Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the   members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that   this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a   memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.             ______________________________ ______________________________      President of the Senate Speaker of the House                 I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 52 was adopted by the Senate   on May 3, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.       ______________________________   Secretary of the Senate                I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 52 was adopted by the House   on May 12, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 142, Nays 0, one   present not voting.       ______________________________   Chief Clerk of the House            Approved:     ______________________________                Date       ______________________________              Governor