Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.) recently introduced a bill to authorize 27 leases requested by the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide local healthcare access to veterans across the country.
Boustany said federal bureaucrats needlessly delayed the construction of local medical clinics for veterans. His proposed bill would instruct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a number of major medical facility leases in fiscal year 2013.
“Recently, the CBS Evening News aired a story on the terrible conditions veterans in Lafayette and Lake Charles face to receive healthcare treatments,” Boustany said. “Unfortunately, this situation is not unique to Lake Charles or Louisiana. This same exact scenario plays out on a daily basis in communities across the country as countless veterans face the same conditions due to bureaucratic red tape coming out of Washington.”
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) and Boustany recently sent letters to their chamber’s VA committee leaders urging them to include both clinics in their upcoming funding authorization bills. Sixty-six members of Congress signed the letters.
A new scoring criterion requires VA Congressional committees to offset direct spending costs under statutory PAYGO requirements for the authorization of VA leases.
“This legislation provides local healthcare access to veterans across America,” Boustany said. “It cuts through the red tape and addresses the issues facing our nation’s brave veterans.”