Military Construction And Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. PERLMUTTER. I thank the gentleman.

Simply put, dirt needs to be turned on the replacement Veterans Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado. This facility is the centerpiece of the VA's capital construction plan under the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services, the CARES project, which began in 1999.

Eight years are gone, millions of dollars in additional costs have been incurred, and three VA secretaries later, it is safe to say the time for action for Colorado and the Rocky Mountain veterans is now. They've waited far too long, and our taxpayers will pay far more the longer this project is dragged out. We have to get this project done.

It is for these reasons I understand and identify with the frustration many in our veterans' community feel in being shut out of the design process as they continue to see the construction of this important undertaking pushed back year after year.

Achieving consensus and moving forward with the construction of this facility has and will continue to be one of my top priorities in Congress. Simply put, it is not fair or right to punish our veterans by the repeated delays resulting each time a new Secretary of Veterans Affairs is appointed.

I believe our veterans deserve better than they've been treated through this process, and to quote the Denver Post, ``Changing plans midstream without bringing in the people who would use the facility or those who put their political capital to work to get money for the project is an affront.'' And the editorial concludes with, ``We hope the VA reconsiders its decision and honors the commitment made to veterans in the Colorado region. The long-anticipated standalone facility is sorely needed and further delay is unacceptable.'' And I couldn't agree more.

That is why I feel it is vital to provide the funding necessary for the Veterans Administration to move forward with the construction of the central utility substation, the parking garage, and the surface parking lots of the proposed facility. These are all projects for which money has already been appropriated and is in the bank, and they're ready to go. In all likelihood, this is going to take more than the $20 million that the administration is currently calling for.

But with that, I would like to yield to the gentleman to ask if he's willing to continue to work with me to secure the funding required to build a facility our veterans can be proud of as soon as possible.

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