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Congressional lawmakers struggled on Monday to reach an agreement to prop up a popular multibillion-dollar health care program that allows veterans to see a private doctor at government expense. This was supposed to be a relatively easy task, meant to buy lawmakers time as they debated the future of the program. As recently as last week, Republican leaders were considering using a bill temporarily funding the Veterans Choice Program as a vehicle to raise the debt ceiling, a perennially bitter pill for Republicans. (Fandos, 7/25)

Kicking off a busy week in the House, most Democrats and a handful of Republicans joined forces to deny GOP leaders big-enough majorities to pass an annual intelligence policy bill and legislation to restore funding for a key veterans health care program. (O'Brien, 7/24)

The legislation would add roughly six months of funding to what’s known as the Veterans Choice Program, which provides a route to private care for certain veterans having difficulty getting medical care at traditional Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. (Mejdrich, 7/24)