The recently released internal audit by the Veterans Affairs Department and a preliminary report by the VA’s Office of Inspector General (IG) paint a heartbreaking picture of veteran care in America. The reports show that egregious delays in treatment and manipulated records at a VA hospital in Phoenix – where 18 veterans died while on waiting lists – are not isolated issues but part of a wider crisis affecting the medical care of veterans across the nation.

The magnitude of this negligence and mismanagement has rightly stirred alarm and outrage. According to the internal audit, more than 57,000 veterans have been waiting three months or more for their first appointments. Likewise, 13 percent of hospital schedulers have been directed by supervisors to make long wait times look shorter than the 14-day deadline. The interim IG report drew similar conclusions, revealing that “inappropriate scheduling practices are a systemic problem nationwide” and more than 42 VA facilities are under review.

FBI Criminal Investigation Underway

Given these troubling findings, I joined 20 Senators in calling for a criminal investigation by the Justice Department to ensure that those responsible are held accountable. On June 11, the FBI launched a probe to determine any criminal wrongdoing, including whether VA administrators lied about patient wait times to qualify for bonuses.

Swift action and sweeping reforms are important to restoring public trust and credibility in the VA system. Gross mistreatment of our veterans is inexcusable and an affront to their service and sacrifice. These brave Americans have earned the best health care available and deserve to receive it in a timely manner. We have an obligation to see that the system no longer fails those that it is supposed to serve.

Congress Demands Patient Choice, Accountability

That is why I cosponsored the “Veterans Choice Act of 2014” shortly after learning of the VA tragedies. The legislation would give veterans more control over their health care and more choices when faced with long wait times. Veterans who live more than 40 miles from a medical center, for example, would be able to choose a doctor outside the VA system.

These ideas were soon incorporated into broader bipartisan legislation, which recently passed the Senate by a vote of 93-3. A related bill was passed unanimously in the House. Once the differences between the two bills are reconciled, it will go the President to become law. In addition to offering veterans private-sector care, the Senate bill, authored by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), would establish 26 new VA medical facilities, hire more doctors and nurses, and allow the VA Secretary to fire or demote employees for poor job performance.

As a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I remain ready to utilize every resource to ensure our veterans receive the first-rate medical services they have earned. Restoring confidence in high-quality patient care – in Jackson, Biloxi, Memphis, or wherever our veterans choose to seek it – is crucial to the reform effort. The problems that have emerged at the VA in recent weeks are a terrible wake-up call, but it is encouraging that Congress has seized this opportunity to rebuild and restore faith in the system.