Trump takes credit for passing veterans bill that passed under Obama

President Trump at his 2020 campaign kickoff rally on Tuesday took credit for passing a veteran’s health care bill that was signed into law by former President Obama. 

“We passed VA Choice,” he said, referring to a bill that allows veterans to seek health options outside the Veterans Affairs-run system. “You go out now, you get a doctor, you fix yourself up, the doctor sends us the bill, we pay for it. And you know what? It doesn’t matter because the life and the veteran is more important, but we also happen to save a lot of money doing that.”

“They’ve been trying to get that passed also for about 44 years,” he added.

Trump takes credit for a Veterans Choice bill that was signed into law by President Obama in 2014 pic.twitter.com/zKmfTPFDa6

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 19, 2019

In 2014, Obama signed a bill that permitted veterans to seek private care outside of Veterans Affairs facilities. It also gave money for the VA to hire additional doctors and nurses and overhauled the VA’s electronic medical records.{mosads}

Trump did sign the VA Mission bill, which permits veterans to have a private doctor if their wait time is 20 days (28 days in the case of specialty care) or if their drive is 30 minutes, according to an Associated Press fact check of similar comments by the president.

Trump launched his reelection bid at a rally in Orlando, Fla.