A bipartisan group of senators has set up a roadblock, perhaps insurmountable, against a congressionally mandated US Dept. of Veterans Affairs proposal revamping its extensive network of hospitals and other health care facilities.
Twelve Senators, led by Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-Mont.), said in a June 27 statement that they oppose the process established by a 2018 law for launching an overhaul of VA’s system of facilities.
At issue is the process for an Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) Commission, created by the 2018 VA MISSION Act. That law required the VA to propose a reshaping of its portfolio of about 170 medical facilities, which the department says, makes it the largest U.S. integrated healthy care system.
VA’s proposal, issued in March, would shut some facilities, build new ones and expand or reconfigure others. At the time, the Associated General Contractors of America projected that the proposed program could mean billions of dollars for construction.