President Barack Obama on Thursday signed into law a bill to help veterans get timely access to quality health care. The measure was drafted by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Jeff Miller, the Senate and House veterans committee chairmen. Sanders joined Obama at the bill-signing ceremony at Fort Belvoir, an Army base near Washington, D.C. “In a dysfunctional Congress, I’m glad we accomplished something significant for veterans. This legislation will go a long way toward ending unacceptably long waiting times for veterans to access health care and allow the VA the resources to hire the doctors, nurses and other medical staff it needs to address these problems over the long term.”

The $16.3 billion measure allows the Veterans Affairs Department to hire thousands of doctors, nurses and other health professionals at some 1,000 hospitals and outpatient clinics nationwide. Veterans who have waited more than 30 days for an appointment or who live more than 40 miles from a VA facility will be eligible to get care from private doctors. The measure also revised employment rules to make it easier for the new VA secretary, Robert McDonald, to fire or demote senior VA executives. The Associated Press called the measure “one of the few significant bills approved this year by both the House and the Senate.”