With the overwhelmingly bipartisan vote for the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014, Congress passed the most significant reforms to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in decades. And, right on cue, here come the grumblings from the second-guessers.

As the bill was on its way to the president’s desk for signing, the critics stepped up to denounce the $16.3 billion congressional compromise.

For example, guests on a Fox News panel savaged the bill, claiming (implausibly) that it was “designed more for unions than veterans.” Meanwhile, an August 4 Wall Street Journal editorial suggests the additional funding for patient choice means that the “VA is being rewarded for failure.”

The argument is that the new legislation will do nothing more than prop up a failing bureaucracy. This represents a serious misreading of the bill’s key provisions. Read more at: weeklystandard.com.

Pete Hegseth is the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America and a Fox News contributor. Pete is an infantry officer in the Army National Guard, and has served tours in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay.