Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the ``West Los Angeles VA Campus Improvement Act,'' which I introduced today. Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA) is introducing companion legislation in the House. Background on the West Los Angeles VA Campus In 1888, the 388-acre campus that is now home to the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center was deeded to the federal government by Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker and Senator John P. Jones in order to establish a home for disabled Civil War Veterans. Until the 1970s, the land served primarily to house Veterans, and the campus long represented the largest Veteran housing development in the nation. Unfortunately, in 1972, 2,800 Veterans living on the West LA VA campus were displaced after the Sylmar Earthquake caused major damage on campus. Rather than repair the housing units, the VA eventually leased portions of the property to non-VA tenants. Forty years later, homeless Veterans and advocates sued the VA for illegally leasing facilities on campus and for failing to use the property to support Veterans, as required by the original deed. A U.S. District Court subsequently ruled that many leases on campus were illegal under the terms of the original deed, and in 2015, the VA agreed to facilitate the development of 1,200 housing units for homeless Veterans on campus.…”