The U.S. Senate passed an amendment introduced by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) that seeks to help U.S. service members and veterans receive advanced prosthetics more quickly. Sen. Ayotte filed the amendment to the fiscal year 2012 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill, which the Senate passed by a vote of 97-2.
The Ayotte amendment requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to send Congress a comprehensive plan detailing a strategy and timetable to make available to injured service members and veterans the next generation of advanced prostheses. The Secretary will be required to submit a report within 90 days to the Senate and House Committees on Appropriations, Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs. The report will address the challenges that delay the delivery of these prostheses to service members and veterans.
“Our Wounded Warriors have sacrificed so much, and they deserve the very best available care and treatment for their injuries,” Sen. Ayotte, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, stated in a press release. “We must not allow bureaucratic obstacles and red tape to deprive service members and veterans of the next generation prosthetics that will dramatically improve their lives.”
