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Local Congressmen Introduce Bill to Keep VA Construction Project on Track

Doyle, Murphy, and Altmire praise local VA officials but blast VA headquarters in Washington

Pittsburgh, PA – July 23, 2007 – U.S. Representatives Mike Doyle, Tim Murphy, and Jason Altmire held a press conference this morning across the street from the VA University Drive facility in Oakland to announce that they have introduced legislation to keep the renovation of the Pittsburgh VA facilities on track.

“The legislation we introduced Thursday is necessary to complete this important construction,” Congressman Doyle said today.  “The VA leadership’s dithering and double-dealing on this project has done a disservice to our region’s veterans. We’re working together to make things right.”

“Our local veterans deserve the state-of-the-art medical facilities they were promised by the VA,” Congressman Murphy said.  “Each day of inaction that goes by is costing more money and denying care to those who need it.  Working together on this legislation will ensure the VA does not fall behind in delivering healthcare to our veterans.”

“There are over 60,000 veterans in my district alone, and they have every right to expect they will receive the finest quality care at Pittsburgh’s VA facilities,” said Congressman Altmire.  “I am disappointed that bureaucrats in Washington DC continue to drag their feet on this important project and to deny our region’s veterans the best health care that they have earned and deserve.”

In 2004, the VA adopted a plan to close the Highland Drive Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) and shift that facility’s psychiatry, mental health, research, and administrative functions to the University Drive VAMC and the H. John Heinz III VAMC in Pittsburgh.  This consolidation will provide veterans with better service and save the VA money in the long run, but it will require some new construction at the University Drive and Heinz facilities.  Initial estimates placed the cost of construction at these two facilities at $189.2 million, and that level of funding was authorized for the project last year in P.L. 109-461, the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006.

Unfortunately, the cost to complete these projects is now estimated at $248 million.  The cost increase occurred because the administration has stretched the Pittsburgh project out, shifting money to other facilities where renovations were over-budget and further behind schedule.  Because the VA authorities in Washington, DC, decided to stretch out the Pittsburgh project, The cost of this project now exceeds the amount authorized by Congress last year.  Without an increase in the authorization, the project cannot be completed.

“By stretching out this project over several additional years, the VA has driven the cost of this project up 30 percent,” Congressman Doyle observed.  “We’ve had to introduce this bill to clean up their mess.”

“The VA in Washington, D.C. has failed to provide the necessary funds to complete the mental health, ambulatory care, and research buildings at the Pittsburgh VA on time,” said Congressman Murphy.  “This legislation ensures that the Pittsburgh VA gets the resources they need to complete this important project.”

 “The VA has been mired in one scandal after another, from long delays in processing claims to lapses in data security, while their executives have been paid hefty bonuses,” added Congressman Altmire.  “Today, we call on VA officials in Washington D.C. to get their priorities straight and to do whatever is necessary to complete this project that is critical to veterans of western Pennsylvania.”

Congressmen Doyle, Murphy, and Altmire have been working with Senator Specter and the Pittsburgh VA to keep the project on track.  They have introduced legislation to provide the authorization necessary to keep the renovation of the Pittsburgh VA facilities on track (H.R. 3102).  Senator Specter has introduced similar legislation in the Senate (S. 1392).

“CARES made the decision to consolidate health care for the veterans in Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio,” said Ronald F. Conley, Director of Allegheny County’s Division of Veterans Services.  “The VA should step up and provide the full funding to finish the project especially for those young veterans that are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.”