Congressional leaders have moved to pass legislation to improve veterans' health care and address the problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs months after it was discovered that officials were using falsified waiting lists at many VA hospitals that allegedly led to the death of dozens of vets.

The infamous VA scandal came to light in May after it was discovered that tens of thousands of veterans were put on long waiting lists in order to get care, and that hospital workers falsified paperwork to make delays appear shorter in order to receive bonuses.

On Monday, the leaders of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees unveiled a tentative deal on legislation to tackle the troublesome VA Department.

"This starts the conversation," said Republican Rep. Jeff Miller, who leads the House veterans committee, the Associated Press reports. "The VA is not sacred -- veterans are."

"The proposal would authorize at least $17 billion in spending over the next three years to fix the veterans health program, with about $5 billion of that offset elsewhere in the budget. Congressional aides say the agreement includes funding to make it easier for veterans who can't get prompt appointments with Veterans Affairs doctors to obtain outside care and funding to hire doctors, nurses and other medical staff," reports the AP.

Plus, the plan authorizes the VA secretary with the power to immediately terminate high level executives.

"The United States Congress is in my view a dysfunctional institution ... so I'm quite proud of what we've accomplished," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., chairman of the Senate veterans panel.

Sanders and Mill also released a joint statement stating that they had "made significant progress" toward an agreement on legislation "to make VA more accountable and to help the department recruit more doctors, nurses and other health care professionals."

In order to move forward, members of Congress in both political parties and chambers would have to review the plan with their respective caucuses. The bill would also need approval by the House and Senate.