Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill. Over the past few years, we have seen mismanagement, cost overruns, and project delays at our Veterans Affairs facilities and hospitals across this country.

While the biggest construction failures are the ones that have gathered the headlines, such as the billion-dollar cost overrun in Colorado, the VA has a knack for dropping the ball on simple and smaller projects as well. One of these is an $8 million ongoing solar panel project at the VA Medical Center in Little Rock. It has been 3 years since the planned activation of the system. However, engineering changes and the relocation of the panels to make way for a new parking garage, which was even known in advance of the award, has cost valuable taxpayer resources.

Last year, I sent a letter, along with Senator John Boozman, to the VA Office of the Inspector General calling for an investigation into this solar panel project, which resulted in the VA Inspector General conducting a national review of all the solar panel projects across the VA.

While this review is being finalized, many questions remain unanswered about these solar projects. Currently, the VA lists 34 key renewable energy projects dating back to 2010 that remain nonoperational.

Today's bill contains an important provision in the report language that will protect the taxpayer dollars by prohibiting funding for solar projects at the VA due to these concerns about the mismanagement in these projects.

I am pleased that the committee has included this essential language as we await the results from the VA Inspector General's investigation into these costly projects.

This small piece is an important part of the overall reevaluation of the VA's construction oversight and implementation that Congress has developed and that taxpayers deserve.

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