Major Medical Facility Authorization Act of 2021

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1910, the Major Medical Facility Authorization Act of 2021.

This bill would authorize the VA's major medical facilities construction projects in California, Washington, New York, and Texas. Those projects include outpatient clinics, a specialty care building, a spinal cord injury center, two community living centers, and more.

These projects are formally requested by the VA in the most recent budget submission. They would benefit hundreds, if not thousands, of veterans.

This bill is sponsored by Senator Jon Tester, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. I thank him for introducing it, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it today.

The VA healthcare system has a massive capital assets profile. It is comprised of medical facilities that are, on average, more than five times older than private-sector medical facilities.

In 2018, Congress passed the Asset and Infrastructure Review Act, or the AIR Act, to bring the VA healthcare system into the 21st century. It would lay the foundation to modernize the VA medical facilities to better serve the veterans.

I am proud to support this bill to help deliver updated medical facilities to the veterans in these four States, but we have much more to do to deliver modern medical care to our veterans across this country.

Mr. Speaker, I hope that we can pass this bill today and then continue working together to ensure the AIR Act lives up to the immense promises that it has for the veterans.

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Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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