Eleventh hour actions keep Denver VA hospital afloat
As a looming May 24 deadline threatened to cap funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) replacement hospital project outside of Denver, Colo., negotiations between Congress and VA on an extension nearly collapsed on multiple occasions. The beleaguered hospital project has seen costs spiral out of control, and a project initially expected to come in under $600 million has now seen estimates hit over $1.7 billion due to gross mismanagement. With VA projected to hit the cap of $880 million in spending (10 percent over its appropriated $800 million), the cap needed to be raised, and VA needed to find additional funding to prevent another work stoppage. Work had previously shut down last December due to a lawsuit between VA and the prime contractor on the project, Kiewit-Turner.
The American Legion had been aggressively working to ensure the project continued, noting in a press release from National Commander Mike Helm on May 15 that, “We cannot in good conscience link VA mismanagement to the well being of veterans in Colorado. The Denver hospital project may be the worst federal construction disaster in recent memory, but that fault lies with VA, not the veterans who still need care.”
VA Secretary Bob McDonald came through with an offer to move the project forward with a $200 million dollar extension using $150 million in recently discovered “unobligated funds,” but that was rejected by House Speaker John Boehner for not covering the complete scope of the project, not containing sufficient accountability measures, and failing to document transparently both the full scope of what remains to be done and from where the “unobligated funds” were being obtained. House members from both the sides of the aisle expressed concerns that VA was “robbing Peter to pay Paul” by taking funds away from other projects in other areas to pay for the problem in Colorado.
On May 19, the Legion issued an action alert urging veterans to contact their lawmakers and come through with a compromise to keep the construction project going.
On May 20, the Legion signed a letter with four other veterans’ service organizations urging swift action even as talks appeared to be breaking down.
Finally, on the afternoon of May 21, Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado was able to put forth a bill (H.R. 2496) to raise the cap to $900 million and give VA a few more weeks of breathing room. The House passed the measure by unanimous consent the same day, and the Senate – already considering many “must pass” measures heading into Memorial Day weekend – passed the bill by a voice vote the next day before members left town for the district work period.
The measure was immediately sent to the White House; President Barack Obama signed the measure into law as P.L. 114-19.
The beleaguered hospital is not out of the woods yet, as the additional cap and funding will likely only extend the project another three or four weeks. However, intense negotiations continue, and with the Army Corps of Engineers taking over as the project management for VA, there is some hope the way forward will be clearer.