Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, will hand deliver a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson from members of the task force formed as part of the effort to save the 74-year-old Waco VA Hospital from closure or downsizing.

The letter will detail the critical role the hospital plays not only in the local economy, but also in providing mental health care in an area where services are already stretched.

Now that a missing laptop computer containing personal information about millions of U.S. veterans and active duty personnel has been recovered, top VA officials are less preoccupied with the potential consequences of the data theft and Edwards says he plans to meet with Veterans Affairs leaders soon to tell them it’s time to make a decision about the Waco facility.

“We’ve been living under this cloud of uncertainty for too long,” Edwards said Thursday during a meeting of the Waco VA Task Force.

There are encouraging signs about what the future may hold for the hospital.

Since the October meeting of the Local Advisory Panel, which was formed to formulate recommendations about the facility’s future, VA Secretary Jim Nicholson has told a congressional committee that the hospital is helping develop models for rehabilitation and treatment of soldiers returning from combat duty.

Edwards is seeking millions of dollars to fund research at the facility on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The Task Force is also exploring possible uses for the vacant buildings on the hospital campus.