U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin said he has bipartisan support to eliminate a commission tasked with consolidating veterans health care facilities.
Manchin, who’s on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said there’s agreement to abolish the Assets and Infrastructure Review Commission.
Manchin said the commission was biased against rural states, and that West Virginia could have seen a reduction in services at three of its four VA medical centers.
He said the committee’s leadership has agreed to not fill vacancies on the commission, which require Senate approval. They’ve also agreed to end the commission in the next National Defense Authorization Act.
“We got them to agree that we’re going to kill the AIR Act by not appointing any commissioners whatsoever,” he said.
Congress passed the Asset and Infrastructure Review Act in 2018 over Manchin’s objection.