Representative Mike Michaud represents Maine's 2nd District in the United States Congress.

On September 10, 2008, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1527, the Rural Veterans Access to Care Act, which is a landmark bill that would increase access to quality health care for rural veterans around the country.  I made sure that the state of Maine was included in this legislation and have made the passage of this bill a top priority.

Working with Republican Congressman Jerry Moran from Kansas, who sponsored the bill, our committee worked in a bipartisan manner to do what is right for our nation's rural veterans. The reality is that many veterans live in remote areas beyond the VA's ability to construct medical facilities to care for them. Too often these veterans forgo the long drive to get treatment, resulting in poorer health among America's rural veteran population.

The Rural Veterans Access to Care Act creates a pilot program that requires the VA to contract with non-VA health providers so that our most underserved veterans have the choice to receive care closer to home at a local hospital or physician's office. To qualify, a veteran must live at least 60 miles from a VA outpatient clinic, 120 miles from a VA hospital or 240 miles from a VA specialty care facility.

Far too many of veterans struggle to find ways to travel to faraway VA facilities or are not healthy enough to make such long trips. Today, 44% percent of military recruits come from rural areas. Allowing for the contracting of care makes sense for veterans in rural areas. When there is no other acceptable VA health care option, veterans should be able to receive care at non-VA providers. The reason this bill creates a limited pilot program is so that we can learn how best to accomplish the goal of expanding access through these private providers, while at the same time ensuring that the VA health care system itself remains strong.

As the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, I held a legislative hearing on the bill on April 26, 2007. It took a while for the bill to work its way to the House floor for a vote, but its passage is a major victory for rural veterans. I strongly urge the Senate to take it up without delay and send it to the president before they adjourn for the year.

In addition to the Rural Veterans Access to Care Act, the House also passed S. 2617, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living adjustment Act of 2008. S. 2617 ensures that benefits for disabled veterans and certain survivors of veterans increase by the same amount as Social Security benefits. The increase will be calculated as of September 30th and is expected to be around 2.8 percent. Passage of this bill in the House clears it for the president's signature.

These benefits are critical for many veterans and their families to help make ends meet. As veterans face challenges like rising food and energy prices, this cost of living increase is a modest, but welcome step.

These accomplishments in the House in the final days of the 110th Congress are substantial and build upon a record of action for the men and woman who sacrificed everything for our country. Congress has passed the largest increases in funding for the VA in its history as well as passed a landmark update of the GI bill, which covers the costs of a four-year college education for service members returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – on a par with the educational benefits available after World War II.

Working together we can accomplish much. It is my hope that the final days of the 110th Congress can yield more positive results for the American people.