President Trump Did Not Pass the Veteran’s Choice Bill
The Claim
President Trump has claimed that he signed the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act into law, providing some veterans who experience difficulty obtaining health care from a Veterans Affairs medical facility to seek care elsewhere.
Emerging story
President Trump has stated on multiple occasions that he signed the Veterans Choice Act into law. In April 2017, President Donald Trump extended the Veterans Choice Act which gave veterans greater access to health care providers. He has since labeled this as something that he and his administration has created.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation shows that the claim is false. The bill that Trump claims to have signed into law is actually the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014. Donald Trump was not President in 2014. Barack Obama signed this bill into law. The law provides military veterans who experience difficulty obtaining health care from a Veterans Affairs medical facility to seek care elsewhere.
President Trump is referring to an Executive Order that he signed in 2017 which removed the program’s expiration date, and then later signed legislation later that year that authorized funding to keep the program running.
