Fiscal Year 2024 Veterans Affairs Major Medical Facility Authorization Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 6324, the Fiscal Year 2024 Veterans Affairs Major Medical Facility Authorization Act, as amended.

I have always supported providing sufficient funding for VA construction projects which make critical investments in improving veterans' access to healthcare and modernizing the facilities where they receive their care.

These investments come at a critical time, when VA employees are being asked to do more with less and provide world-class care in aging and outdated buildings.

The average age of VA-owned buildings is approaching 60 years old, with 1,800 buildings still in active use that are designated as historic or eligible for historic status. Meanwhile, private-sector hospitals are less than 15 years old on average.

Despite its aging infrastructure and these challenges, the Department of Veterans Affairs continues to deliver high-quality healthcare, with VA hospitals once again this year outperforming private hospitals on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' annual hospital quality star ratings.

To ensure VA can continue providing exceptional care for years to come, we must invest appropriately in its infrastructure.

H.R. 6324, as amended, authorizes more than $3.35 billion for major medical facility construction projects in 11 locations, including: $759.2 million for construction of a new healthcare center and utility plant in El Paso, Texas; $274.3 million for replacement of a community living center and expansion of parking facilities in Perry Point, Maryland; $613 million for seismic retrofitting and renovation of buildings, construction of a new specialty care facility, and parking upgrades in Portland, Oregon; and $311.7 million for construction of a new spinal cord injury building, utility plant upgrades, seismic retrofitting, and other projects in San Diego, California.

These projects will ensure the veterans in these communities have access to the highest level of care VA can provide. This legislation is a crucial step to continue our goal of making critical investments in the modernization of VA medical facilities.

Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly support H.R.

I ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 6324, the Fiscal Year 2024 Veterans Affairs Major Medical Facility Authorization Act, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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