Jeff Denham: “Every Member of this body recognizes the special obligation this House has to take care of our veterans. We also have an…”

“Every Member of this body recognizes the special obligation this House has to take care of our veterans. We also have an obligation to ensure that the funds we entrust to the Department of Veterans Affairs are actually properly spent. The shocking waste of funds at the Aurora Hospital in Denver has rightly earned the outrage of both this body and the American public. The $930 million in cost overruns in Denver will have to be paid for by taking funds that could otherwise have accelerated critical access projects across the country or assisted the Department as it attempts to tackle the backlog in claims at the Veterans Benefits Administration. I am particularly concerned that the complete failure of project management of the Denver hospital is negatively impacting veterans in my district. They have already suffered from a lack of access to care. Specifically, I am seeking clarity on what the committee intends with the major construction funding appropriated under this bill. The Committee report includes language requiring the funding provided for major construction to be used for new hospital construction and seismic corrections. One of the projects included in this request is the Livermore Realignment and Closure project. This project would utilize FY 2016 funding to provide for the complete construction of a new medical facility at French Camp in the Central Valley.…”