Lawmakers in both parties say the negotiations are at a standstill. | AP Photos VA reform hits stalemate

When revelations surfaced earlier this summer that the Department of Veterans Affairs provided poor health care to veterans — leading to some deaths — a genuine scandal erupted and Congress promised to impose big changes.

But staring down the August recess, the effort to overhaul the agency is on the verge of collapse.


The trouble doesn’t center on substantive policy differences. In fact, Democrats and Republicans agree on the core outlines of the bill. Instead, Congress is in the middle of another standoff over money.

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Democrats and Republicans are struggling to agree on how to pay for legislation that could cost between $25 billion and $30 billion. That logjam is transforming the VA debate from one that united both parties to yet another fiscal fight, prompting the same type of partisan finger pointing that has become familiar after years of budget showdowns.

“They have walked away from it,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said of House Republicans. “It’s unfortunate, because we had a strong bipartisan vote, and that doesn’t mean much to the House.”

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said it was “shameful” that Senate Democrats refused to negotiate with the House. He was referring to a decision by Senate Democrats to boycott a hastily called meeting Thursday of the House-Senate conference committee charged with finalizing a bill.

“Senate Democrats refused to even show up and discuss bipartisan solutions, preferring instead to talk behind closed doors. That is shameful,” the Ohio Republican said.

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And despite optimism from the two co-chairs of the conference committee that Congress will be able to eke out a deal, senators in both parties said the negotiations are at a standstill.

“The pressure and all of this back-and-forth is because we haven’t been negotiating,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said the talks appear to be “veering away.”

Tension that had been bubbling for weeks exploded with a parade of Senate Democrats taking to the floor Thursday to blast House Republicans for suddenly calling a conference committee meeting. They said that decision was made unilaterally by House Veterans Affairs’ Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) to offer a “take-it-or-leave-it” proposal with just days left before a five-week congressional recess.

Miller responded by accusing Senate Veterans’ Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) of lobbing “grenades” at him through the media.

It’s a nasty fight with deep political implications: No politician wants to be seen as the roadblock to aiding veterans who were stiffed by the VA’s falsified appointment logs. Senate Democratic aides no longer believe Miller is acting in good faith; Miller accused Sanders of showboating with his refusal to attend the Thursday conference committee hearing.

Despite the nasty back-and-forth, somehow both Miller and Sanders say they are optimistic the conference committee can reach a deal before next Friday.

“I haven’t foreclosed on anything,” Miller said. “I have every intention of having something passed through both Houses by the time we leave. One week from today.”

“I am hopeful that we can come up with an agreement,” Sanders said. “I do believe that every member of the United States Congress understands what a terrible thing it would be to turn our backs on the needs of the men and women who put their lives on the line to defend us.”

But there are extraordinary challenges facing both sides, and the slim chances of a new law slip away with each hour that passes.

The Senate left for another long weekend on Thursday afternoon and returns Monday to a crowded, controversial agenda that includes a vote on the Highway Trust Fund, tax bills and a request from President Barack Obama for additional funds to combat the influx of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S. border. Senators also have agreed to vote on the nomination of Robert McDonald to led the Department of Veterans Affairs. He is expected to be easily confirmed.

On the House side, any deal will have to be agreeable to a GOP Conference wary of any additional government spending. Even though public pressure is intense to reform the VA, there will be push-back if House Republicans do not feel enough of the final cost is offset. Miller and Sanders have been negotiating how to pay for the bill for a week though neither side will detail what offsets are being considered.

McCain said brawls like the Sanders-Miller dispute are common during negotiations but they usually occur in private. He said just hours before he and Sanders announced a bipartisan agreement on the Senate’s VA legislation in June, the two sides were on the verge of walking out on their talks.

“There is always that. That is part of tough negotiations. We yelled at each other and shouted at each other … and then you come to an agreement,” he said.

A fault line has emerged over a $17.6 billion request from Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson to hire doctors and nurses and expand VA facilities. House Republicans question if the agency, which has been widely accused of mismanagement, needs such a large figure.

Sanders has broadly backed the request but said he would support reducing it.

When the committee was created last month, responsibility to craft a deal quickly fell on Miller and Sanders to negotiate a deal with the other members of the committee taking a backseat as the two co-chairs swapped ideas that slowly moved the two sides closer.

But negotiations halted on Wednesday night.

Sanders said that he submitted to Miller a compromise bill last week — and Miller’s response was to announce the conference committee meeting to offer GOP legislation that Sanders had not seen. Sanders also said he had not agreed to hold a conference committee meeting, which only a single House Democrat attended.

McCain attempted to arbitrate negotiations between Miller and Sanders, engaging in a floor discussion with the Vermont senator to try to find a middle ground that pays for some of a bill’s multibillion-dollar costs.

McCain pleaded for a truce between the warring factions and rapped Miller for violating the “simple courtesy” of scheduling a conference meeting with Sanders.

“I hope that kind of thing doesn’t happen again,” McCain said. “I beg my colleagues to sit down and let’s work this out. It’s a matter of money. It’s not a matter of the provisions of the bill. And that can’t be the reason for us not to reach some agreement.”

Miller said he would reconvene the conference committee on Monday to allow members to vote on the House proposal.