Major Medical Facility Lease Authorization Act of 2013

Floor Speech

Mr. INHOFE. Madam President, I am pleased that the Senate is scheduled, hopefully, to pass H.R. 3521, the Department of Veterans Affairs Major Medical Facility Lease Authorization Act of 2013, known as S. 1740 in the Senate, which I proudly cosponsored. The treatment of our country's veterans is of great importance to me, and I believe that it is the government's duty to honor the promises made to our veterans.

My constituents have written to me many times regarding the worsening conditions of the VA outpatient clinic in Tulsa. The building currently lacks the space to care adequately for the large number of veterans that receive their medical treatment at the facility. Due to the size of the facility, services such as the behavioral health services were located several miles away. Additionally, the parking lot capacity was not acceptable. It is because of my constituents that I have worked vigorously to ensure that their voices were heard.

With the passage of this bill, there will be funding to improve and expand this clinic. The new VA outpatient clinic in Tulsa would include primary care, women's health, imaging, specialty care, physical therapy, audiology, optometry, mental health, prosthetics, dentistry, and a pharmacy. The facility would then be able to provide the services that were promised to our men and women who were willing to make the personal sacrifices necessary to serve in the defense of our country.

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