United States lawmakers from both houses of Congress have reached a US$17-billion deal on Monday to fix the troubled Veterans Affairs Department several days before Congress adjourns for a month-long break.

The bill will be submitted to U.S. President Barack Obama this week. It includes a US$10-billion portion that will allow veterans to seek treatment outside the Veterans Affairs Department facilities.

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The compromise bill was unveiled following a weeklong contentious and intense debate on how to improve the health care services for veterans.

The bill was in response to a cover up scandal last April that blew up some time in May. Investigators found that VA officials were covering up its lists of veterans seeking schedule in its facilities.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fl), chairmen of the Senate and House Veterans Affairs Committees respectively, detailed the agreement on Monday and said the bill will address the "immediate crisis" of veterans.

The fund will also be used to hire more doctors, nurses and medical staff to address the backlog in the VA, which it said caused the poor service. With additional staff, the agency also allocated funds for the leasing of 27 new VA facilities in 18 states and Puerto Rico.

Last May, VA's internal investigators confirmed that officials manipulated the appointment data of 42 VA medical centers in an attempt to cover the poor service which in turn could affect the performance appraisals, bonus awards and salary increases to VA executives.

The probe has prompted VA head Eric Shinseki to resign from his post to give way to the full investigation, which President immediately accepted.  

With the new bill, it makes it easier for the new VA secretary to fire or demote its staff who covered up the long lists of veterans who waited just to avail its healthcare service. 

Miller said the House is expected to vote on the measure by Wednesday this week, optimistic that his fellow lawmaker would approve the bill despite the deficit it will add to the next decade.

The Senate has yet to announce when it will tackle the bill, with only three working days remaining in the calendar before the month-long break.

Tagshouse, Senate, Veterans Affairs, healthcare, Veterans Health Care