A bill to authorize major medical facility leases for the Department of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2010, and for other purposes.

I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) for bringing this legislation to the House floor today. I'm here in support of it.

In particular, I am pleased with a provision that's included in this bill that authorizes a new community-based outpatient clinic, or CBOC, to be located in Johnson County, Kansas.

As a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and former chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, I have been an advocate for establishing a CBOC in our State. These VA clinics bring health care services closer to veterans who have served our country. During my time in Congress, I have helped open five other outpatient clinics in our State: Hays, Dodge City, Salina, Junction City, and Hutchinson. Especially in my own congressional district where there is no VA hospital, these health facilities have proven to be invaluable. These clinics are a successful part of a larger success story of our country's efforts to raise the standards of care for veterans.

Veterans in Johnson County, Kansas, deserve timely access to medical care, and I've been working to make sure that the VA recognizes this. Johnson County is our State's most populated county, so it's unusual in a sense for me to be here talking about them, but located in the suburbs of Kansas City, this area is home to hundreds of thousands of veterans. The VA patient workload in future years for this region is expected to increase significantly. And unless the capacity is created to care for these veterans, timely access will be threatened.

With the passage of this legislation, I'm pleased the VA can move forward on this clinic to provide quality medical care for northeast Kansans who've sacrificed in service to our country. The new outpatient clinic will mean closer medical services and less wait times for a large number of Kansas veterans who currently travel across the State line to Missouri for health care. With over 44,000 square feet authorized, this sizable clinic will provide comprehensive outpatient services, including mental health as well as radiology, laboratory services, and a pharmacy.

I want to thank the VISN in Kansas City and KC VA Medical Center for their foresight on this project and for their efforts to see that it's completed by the year 2012. I thank the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moore) for his efforts, and I encourage my colleagues in this House to support this legislation.

I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 1717.

This bill authorizes funds to lease 15 major medical facilities across the country. These are facilities that the VA desperately needs to meet the growing demand for outpatient health care, for veteran health care. In my district alone, hundreds of veterans are forced to drive up to 2 hours to a VA hospital in Palo Alto for outpatient care. I know that many of these districts share the same situation. The bottom line is the VA is unable to meet our current needs through its traditional construction system. We must take action to ensure our veterans are receiving the health care they deserve.

The leasing program in this bill allows funds known as the Health Care Center Facilities program to use private-sector money. This innovative approach to funding construction and maintenance of VA hospitals is just the type of idea we need to plug these holes in service. In some ways the lease program builds off a similar program that the armed services use for residential community housing, essentially housing for men and women in uniform. The lesson from these programs is clear: we need to leverage private-sector investment for government benefits.

The health care needs of our returning and aging veterans will only continue to increase, and it is essential for the VA to meet this demand with modern, efficient, and accessible veterans' health facilities. In my district I have been working with the VA and with DOD, Department of Defense, officials to build a joint outpatient clinic for veterans and active and retired military servicemembers. This bill contains the lease authority for that joint VA/DOD clinic at the former Fort Ord. This clinic will serve more than 80,000 veterans and active and retired military servicemembers on the Monterey Peninsula.

There is a glaring need to provide care for our veterans. This bill will accomplish that. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, to thank those that have been involved at the committee level to bring it to the floor, and to expand health care options for all our veterans.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Senate 1717.

As a veteran, I recognize the sacrifice our men and women in uniform are making on behalf of our country to defend our Nation and protect our liberties. But, unfortunately, notable deficiencies in capacity are limiting access to health care which many of our veterans desperately need.

This bill includes authorization of approximately $5.1 million to establish an outpatient clinic for veterans throughout the metropolitan Atlanta area and across Georgia to improve access to care, particularly as the strain exists on existing VA facilities, and it will continue to increase that strain as servicemembers return home. This new facility will work in support of the Atlanta VA Medical Center, which is located in Decatur, Georgia.

Currently, over 630,000 veterans live within the Atlanta VA catchment area, and that number will continue to grow. Estimates further indicate that the number of outpatient visits in the area will grow by 120 percent by 2025, with a dramatic 170 percent surge in mental health visits.

The Atlanta Specialty Care Clinic lease, which this bill provides for, will provide an opportunity to serve our veterans in a contemporary facility, ensuring that maximum safety and security are going to be addressed. This facility will enhance the VA's ability to provide some of the highest-in-demand services in ophthalmology, podiatry, and dermatology, while allowing the existing areas at the Decatur VA facility to be expanded to address mental health services and traumatic brain injury.

I have introduced a similar piece of legislation in the House, H.R. 3704, which also authorizes the establishment of this much-needed facility. Over 17,000 unique patients representing 88,000 outpatient visits per year will benefit by this much-needed addition to our already strained system.

Mr. Speaker, our veterans deserve no less than our best, and I remain committed to ensuring that our servicemembers receive the health care that they deserve.

I thank the gentlemen for their support of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1717, a bill to authorize major medical facility leases for the Department of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2010 and other purposes.

S. 1717 would allow for new and expanded veterans' medical facilities throughout the United States. New VA outpatient facilities would be opened in Atlanta, Georgia; Butler, Pennsylvania; Birmingham, Alabama; Fayetteville, North Carolina; Huntsville, Alabama; Kansas City, Kansas; Loma Linda, California; and Montgomery, Alabama. These new facilities will provide the ability to handle larger veteran populations and deliver expanded

services in modern state-of-the-art facilities.

This bill would also authorize the replacement of VA outpatient facilities in Anderson, South Carolina; Bakersfield, California; Charlotte, North Carolina; McAllen, Texas; Monterey, California; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It would also allow for the expansion of the outpatient facility in Tallahassee, Florida, my State. This would ensure that these locations can continue to provide veterans with effective, quality care. S. 1717 would ensure that VA medical facilities can deliver the highest quality of service, the key, to veterans by providing the authorization for these projects.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support S. 1717 and the benefits it would provide to veterans with medical facility leases across the country. I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to Dr. Deal from Georgia.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran), a member of the VA Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the ranking member of

the Appropriations Committee, Mr. Lewis.

Mr. Speaker, this bill contains needed authorizations requested by the VA, and it is important that we move this legislation forward quickly.

I urge my colleagues to support S. 1717.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1717) to authorize major medical facility leases for the Department of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2010, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I rise in support of S. 1717, a bill to authorize 15 major medical facility leases for the Department of Veterans Affairs' fiscal year 2010 budget. The bill would also authorize $196 million to allow the VA to carry out these leases in a timely manner.

Mr. Speaker, the VA operates the largest direct health care delivery system in America. Providing timely access to high-quality health care to veterans is the work of the VA. It provides these services through their sizable inventory of buildings and properties that include 153 medical centers, 755 outpatient clinics, and 230 vet centers. This bill provides the VA the ability to move forward without delay on the execution of important leases. Veterans who have been anticipating new clinics opening up in their communities will not be disappointed if we act on time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to thank the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee for taking the lead and moving this bill so quickly. I urge support of the legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no speakers running for Governor or Senator, so I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr), who has been an incredible advocate for, I think, a unique approach to serving the veterans in his area in Monterey, California.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 1717.

Mr. Speaker, I think the importance of this bill and its quick passage has been proven by all the speakers.

I yield back the balance of my time.