Senate Passes VA Reform Bill That Green-Lights Lake Charles VA Clinic
Bill that includes reforms by Landrieu heads to President for signature; Lake Charles clinic originally included in Senate bill, now in final version after request by Landrieu
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate today passed a bill that reforms the Veterans Affairs (VA) Administration and green lights the long-delayed Lake Charles veterans clinic after U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., included the authorization in the in the original Senate bill. The Senator also requested it remain in the final version by House and Senate negotiators. The bill now heads to the President for his expected signature. “Today, we changed the light from red to green to build a permanent clinic in Lake Charles to provide quality and local health care for veterans in Southwest Louisiana. It has taken longer than it should have, but I was proud to work with Rep. Boustany and lead our delegation’s efforts to keep the promise made to the 20,000 veterans who call Lake Charles home,” Sen. Landrieu said. “I will work with our local officials to break ground as soon as possible.” The bill also includes tools and reforms—some by Sen. Landrieu—to increase health care access, provide greater transparency and hold individuals accountable:
Earlier this month, Sen. Landrieu met with Louisiana Veterans Affairs Sec. David LaCerte to coordinate state and federal efforts to reduce health care wait times, increase the number of doctors and nurses and thanked LaCerte for his service to Louisiana and its 300,000 veterans. This follows Sen. Landrieu being one of the first senators to call for former VA Sec. Eric Shinseki to resign and successfully added an amendment to hold ineffective officials at the VA accountable that she added to the bill that funds the VA for FY15. In September 2012, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) changed its characterization of Major Medical Facility leases, requiring the Veterans Administration to pay for a full 20 years of rent upfront for health clinics. While the leases would have normally cost just more than $126 million, they are now scored at almost $1.4 billion. Due to these costs, 27 clinics across the country could not be authorized in fiscal year 2013, including clinics in Lake Charles and Lafayette. Since then, Sen. Landrieu and Rep. Boustany have partnered to pass legislation and find solutions to construct the two clinics in Southwest Louisiana. Earlier this year, Sen. Landrieu and Rep. Boustany led an effort of the entire Louisiana congressional delegation to demand answers from the Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki on the delayed completion of the two veterans’ clinics in Southwest Louisiana.
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