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WASHINGTON (AP) — After weeks of partisan bickering in Congress, it appears a deal is set on legislation addressing the Veterans Department scandal that cost the agency's chief his job.
The chairmen of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees have reached a tentative agreement on a plan to improve veterans' health care.
The deal was struck between Florida Republican Congressman Jeff Miller and Vermont's Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent. The pair has scheduled a news conference for Monday to talk about a compromise plan to fix the veterans' health program that has been scandalized by long patient wait times and falsified records covering up delays. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned during the height of the scandal earlier this year.
Miller chairs the House veterans panel, while Sanders chairs the Senate panel.
A spokesman for Sanders said Sunday the men have reached a tentative agreement. The deal requires a vote by a conference committee of House and Senate negotiators, and votes in the full House and Senate.
Miller and Sanders said in a joint statement Sunday that they "made significant progress" over the weekend toward agreement on legislation to reform the Veterans Affairs Department.
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