Statement of Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, Veterans Health Care Facilities Capital Improvement Act, H.R. 1720, October 29, 2003 (3 pages)

Statement of Congresswoman Shelley Berkley Veterans Health Care Facilities Capital Improvement Act, H.R. 1720 October 29, 2003 Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1720. I would like to thank the VA Committee Chairman Smith, Health Subcommittee Chairman Simmons and Ranking Member Evans for working closely with all of us on this side of the aisle on this important measure. I also want to thank Chairman Smith and the entire staff for working with us to bring this measure before the House for its consideration today. This bill contains authorizations for many worthwhile major medical construction projects. Congress has put a virtual stop to appropriations for major medical construction projects over the last four years since the General Accounting Office released a report that suggested VA was spending too much money maintaining buildings that were not being used to serve veterans. Since fiscal year 2000, Congress has appropriated $121 million for major medical projects. That's about $6 billion less than experts recommend for maintaining and enhancing capital assets. But while spending for major medical construction projects has declined the number of veterans moving to states like my own, Nevada, continues to explode and the need for expanded facilities is not being met. Southern Nevada's veterans population is one of the fastest growing in the nation and is getting larger every day. The VA predicts that the number of annual visits by veterans in the Las Vegas Valley to their primary health care clinic will rise from 200,000 to more than half-a-million by 2010. And the number of hospital beds needed to serve the veterans in my community will increase by over 50%. The VA is already struggling to address and meet the current demands on the VA health care structure in the Las Vegas Valley. Last year, 1500 southern Nevada veterans were sent to neighboring states because we could not provide the needed services locally. This is an unfair burden on these veterans and their families. They should not have to travel hundreds of miles for care. In addition, due to decrepit conditions and structural deficiencies, the VA evacuated the Guy Clinic, only 5 years old, forcing veterans to rely on a string of temporary clinics scattered across the Las Vegas Valley. Imagine what it is like for an eighty-year-old veteran waiting in the desert heat to be shuttled from clinic to clinic to receive the health care he needs. For example, a veteran who needs a CT scan may have to shuttle from a temporary site which houses the CT scan technology, then to another site to obtain a prescription for a controlled narcotic, and then to a third site for mental health services. And female veterans who need mammograms will have to shuttle to a different clinic just for that service. As one 81-year World War II veteran described the situation, "You're going from one place to another and it gets confusing." Don't our veterans deserve a permanent facility to meet all health care needs? In short, Southern Nevada is facing a veterans health care crisis. At the time H.R. 1720 was introduced and passed the Veterans Affairs Committee, the VA recognized Las Vegas was in need of a new multi-specialty outpatient clinic. H.R. 1720 authorized $6.5 million for annual leases for a clinic. However, in the time since the legislation was acted on in Committee, the Department of Veterans Affairs released the CARES document which proposes $4.6 billion worth of construction, reflecting only a portion of the growing backlog and veterans' growing demand for services. VA's average health care facility is about 52 years old, so updates are essential. The failure to make investments has put VA way behind in addressing such urgent needs as seismic corrections, renovations to address patient safety and privacy concerns, and problems that threaten VA's accreditation by outside quality assurance agencies. To address the concern about underutilized buildings, VA embarked upon a process to identify veterans' needs for health care for the next 20 years. The CARES plan calls for the construction of a full-scale medical facility in Las Vegas, including a full-service patient care hospital, an outpatient clinic, and a comprehensive long-term care nursing home facility in Las Vegas. In light of the VA's new plan for veterans health care facilities, I ask the Committee to continue to work with me to update the authorization level to reflect the demands in Southern Nevada and to allocate funds for a full service VA medical complex. America's veterans served our nation and now we must honor our commitment to these brave men and women. Providing high-quality health care is part of keeping our promise to these heroes and sends an important message to our troops now deployed at home and abroad in the defense of our nation. These future veterans, some of whom call Nevada home, will also one day be eligible for VA care. Investing now will ensure that we will be able to serve the health care needs of our veterans today and in the future. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.