The Senate Veterans Affairs Committees has approved the nomination of Dr. Robert Petzel as undersecretary for health of the VA.
Committee chair Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, said, "Dr. Petzel has won the confidence of the Committee, and stands ready to provide new leadership for the nation’s largest health care system."
Petzel is currently the acting principle deputy undersecretary for health at the VA and has served as a VA network director and as a chief of staff of a VA medical center.
The VA stands to receive a multibillion-dollar increase in its annual budget with the recently signed into law consolidated appropriations act of 2010.
The bill also includes advance funding for the subsequent year, as authorized by the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act, which was signed into law earlier this year.
"This bill is remarkable not only for the substantial increase to VA’s budget, but also because it provides the first appropriation for advance funding of veterans’ health care, which will provide veterans’ hospitals and clinics with the timely and predictable funding they need,” said Akaka.
