Brindisi Joins Local Veterans, Delivers Holiday Cards for Heroes, and Announces Bainbridge Clinic Will Remain Open
Statement
Congressman Anthony Brindisi, joined by area Veterans, announced he secured key language in a government funding bill to protect the Bainbridge VA clinic from closure. Brindisi, a champion for rural Veterans, inserted a provision requiring the VA to conduct a market area assessment before taking action on Bainbridge.
"The Washington bureaucracy doesn't understand what it means to live in rural parts of our country," Brindisi said. "The VA has an obligation to serve our Veterans, regardless of how rural their community is. To be clear: the Bainbridge clinic will remain open for now, but a more permanent solution is needed. I will use my seat on the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs to fight for our rural Veterans and keep this clinic open."
Brindisi secured language in the recent government spending legislation that the President signed last week. The language reads, "None of the funds made available by this Act may be used by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to close the community based outpatient clinic located in Bainbridge, New York, until the Secretary of Veterans Affairs submits to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate a market area assessment." This protection will allow Bainbridge to keep its doors open and continue serving area veterans.
Earlier this year, Brindisi brought Dr. Richard Stone of the Veterans' Health Administration to Bainbridge to see the clinic firsthand. Prior to the visit, Brindisi grilled Stone over keeping the clinic open during a House Committee on Veterans' Affairs hearing.
Brindisi was delivering holiday cards to local Veterans to express his appreciation for their service.
"During the holiday season, it is important that we honor those who fought to protect our freedoms," Brindisi said. "Being able to share the news about protecting the Bainbridge clinic around the holidays made it all the more special."
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