On the recordMay 31, 2012
Madam Chairman, I thank the chairman for the hard work on this vital appropriations bill. I met with some veterans back in Butler on Tuesday morning, and their concern is with the Butler campus and the building of a new health care center. Now, here's where the questions come. Specifically, they want to know why the VA would build a brand new, $16 million health care center while the existing facility, Building Number 1, was recently renovated, upgraded, and provides roughly 70,000 more square feet than the new health care center. The decision to build the new health care center was done with no public hearing, which the VA readily admits. And according to local veterans, the VA failed to provide a forum for their input. Now, veterans in my district would like to be reassured that the services they currently receive will be met and exceeded without any disruption in continuity. Many would like to know why a new facility is being built when the current facilities could have been further upgraded, and the potential savings could have been used to improve the quality of the service provided. The VA should respond to the veteran community with reassurances that the care and service at the Butler VA is being enhanced, not diminished by the construction of a new health care center.
