Hutchison, Cornyn Ask for Action on VA Hospital in Valley
Posted using ShareThis
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Target Eric Shinseki
The Veterans Alliance of the Rio Grande Valley has been working hard trying to have a Veterans Affairs hospital constructed in south Texas. There are over 100,000 veterans that must travel up to 250 miles to the nearest VA hospital for acute care. Inpatient services are not available at the two outpatient clinics.
Veterans Alliance have launched a letter of support campaign directed at Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki. Veterans are going to national, state and local elected officials and requesting that they send a letter to Sec. Shinseki requesting that he come to south Texas to meet with veterans and address the issue. Also, in that letter, Sec. Shinseki is asked that why doesn't the VA take a common sense approach to the issue by adding emergency and inpatient care services to the present Super Clinic being constructed right now in Harlingen, TX. The VAOPC center in Harlingen is being expanded to a three story building with a 5 floor parking garage area next to the clinic. It is a huge building and veterans think that it can house emergency and inpatient care services. The fact is that present plans do not call for such.
Veterans have been seeking a VA hospital for about three decades and they have not been helped. Congressman Solomon Ortiz has filed a bill in the House of Representatives for the construction of a VA full fledged hospital for the south Texas area. He has done this in just about every session of Congress since he was elected to office in 1988. The fact is that the bill is filed but it never makes it out of committee. It remains dormant for the entire session. The bill is read and assigned to the House Veteran Affairs Committee, who in turn sends it to subcommittee on Veterans Health. There is just gathers dust. During the 110Th session the bill garnered 15 cosponsors. The most that it had done before. The reason was that veterans traveled to Washington DC when Ortiz was testifying on the bill. Ortiz introduced the veterans that were in the gallery. Media coverage was good. The Chairman of the Veterans Committee, Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) traveled to south Texas to meet with veterans and was very optimistic. He was follow by Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX), chairman of the House Committee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. He too was optimistic and even told the veterans that the money was available and it would not be a problem. That was then. The Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), the ranking member of the House Veterans Committee traveled to the valley of south Texas. He told the veterans that the VA was no longer constructing stand alone VA hospitals. He described them as relics, dinosaurs, thing of the past. But when pressed by some veterans he indicated that maybe the VA would look at the request if there was land available. A Texas State Representative was in the audience he told Rep. Buyer that the state could provide land if needed. He however continued on with his speech and question and answer session. During the presidential campaign, Senators Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Kerry and Ted Kennedy came to south Texas and all supported the idea of a VA hospital for the thousands of veterans. Sen. Obama came down on three occasions and he repeated the promise. Kerry, Clinton and Obama all signed on a cosponsors of a bill submitted by Texas Senator John Cornyn requesting the construction of a VA hospital in South Texas.
Last year the Veterans helped push Proposition 8 through the Texas legislature. Prop 8 would allow the state of Texas to provide monies and other resources to construct and maintain veterans hospital in the state. It was placed before the voters and the voters approved it overwhelmingly with 86% to those voting in favor. The VA and the State of Texas can partner and solve the problem. That is if they want to solve the problem.
Which brings veterans to their new strategy. At this posting, Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison have signed a joint letter to Sec. Shinseki. US Congressmen Ruben Hinojosa, Henry Cuellar and Solomon Ortiz have also forwarded a joint letter. At the state level, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and State Senators Eddie Lucio, Jr. and Juan Jesus Hinojosa have also signed a joint letter to Sec. Shinseki. The eight local state legislators have all agreed to send a joint letter also. That is being prepared right now. The Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville has also indicated that he will write a similar letter. The cities of Harlingen, Pharr and Mercedes are also on board. Other local cities will be approached.
Veterans have also worked with state legislators to work towards a medical school in the area. This was done in part because the VA had a requirement that a VA hospital be adjacent or close to a medical school. The State of Texas passed legislation to construct and maintain a medical school under the University of Texas Health Science Center in Harlingen, TX. The site will be in the same area as medical centers and medical providers offices. Land has been made available for both the medical school as well as the VA surgery center.
Veterans have agreed that the Harlingen site be the site of the flagship VA hospital for the newly created TX Valley Coastal Bend Health Services District that has been recently created to provide health services for the area by the VA.
All is in place. Veterans and their supporters have done all they can to satisfy the VA. It is in their hands now.
But veterans do not want to just say that its at the VA hands now. They will continue with the momentum and keep forwarding the VA requests for a VA hospital. The money is there, the land is there and most important the need is there and it is a great need that has to be solved.
Enough is enough, Veterans are now demanding a VA hospital for the area. No more band-aid types of gestures from our government.
Veterans Alliance have launched a letter of support campaign directed at Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki. Veterans are going to national, state and local elected officials and requesting that they send a letter to Sec. Shinseki requesting that he come to south Texas to meet with veterans and address the issue. Also, in that letter, Sec. Shinseki is asked that why doesn't the VA take a common sense approach to the issue by adding emergency and inpatient care services to the present Super Clinic being constructed right now in Harlingen, TX. The VAOPC center in Harlingen is being expanded to a three story building with a 5 floor parking garage area next to the clinic. It is a huge building and veterans think that it can house emergency and inpatient care services. The fact is that present plans do not call for such.
Veterans have been seeking a VA hospital for about three decades and they have not been helped. Congressman Solomon Ortiz has filed a bill in the House of Representatives for the construction of a VA full fledged hospital for the south Texas area. He has done this in just about every session of Congress since he was elected to office in 1988. The fact is that the bill is filed but it never makes it out of committee. It remains dormant for the entire session. The bill is read and assigned to the House Veteran Affairs Committee, who in turn sends it to subcommittee on Veterans Health. There is just gathers dust. During the 110Th session the bill garnered 15 cosponsors. The most that it had done before. The reason was that veterans traveled to Washington DC when Ortiz was testifying on the bill. Ortiz introduced the veterans that were in the gallery. Media coverage was good. The Chairman of the Veterans Committee, Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) traveled to south Texas to meet with veterans and was very optimistic. He was follow by Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX), chairman of the House Committee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. He too was optimistic and even told the veterans that the money was available and it would not be a problem. That was then. The Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), the ranking member of the House Veterans Committee traveled to the valley of south Texas. He told the veterans that the VA was no longer constructing stand alone VA hospitals. He described them as relics, dinosaurs, thing of the past. But when pressed by some veterans he indicated that maybe the VA would look at the request if there was land available. A Texas State Representative was in the audience he told Rep. Buyer that the state could provide land if needed. He however continued on with his speech and question and answer session. During the presidential campaign, Senators Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Kerry and Ted Kennedy came to south Texas and all supported the idea of a VA hospital for the thousands of veterans. Sen. Obama came down on three occasions and he repeated the promise. Kerry, Clinton and Obama all signed on a cosponsors of a bill submitted by Texas Senator John Cornyn requesting the construction of a VA hospital in South Texas.
Last year the Veterans helped push Proposition 8 through the Texas legislature. Prop 8 would allow the state of Texas to provide monies and other resources to construct and maintain veterans hospital in the state. It was placed before the voters and the voters approved it overwhelmingly with 86% to those voting in favor. The VA and the State of Texas can partner and solve the problem. That is if they want to solve the problem.
Which brings veterans to their new strategy. At this posting, Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison have signed a joint letter to Sec. Shinseki. US Congressmen Ruben Hinojosa, Henry Cuellar and Solomon Ortiz have also forwarded a joint letter. At the state level, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and State Senators Eddie Lucio, Jr. and Juan Jesus Hinojosa have also signed a joint letter to Sec. Shinseki. The eight local state legislators have all agreed to send a joint letter also. That is being prepared right now. The Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville has also indicated that he will write a similar letter. The cities of Harlingen, Pharr and Mercedes are also on board. Other local cities will be approached.
Veterans have also worked with state legislators to work towards a medical school in the area. This was done in part because the VA had a requirement that a VA hospital be adjacent or close to a medical school. The State of Texas passed legislation to construct and maintain a medical school under the University of Texas Health Science Center in Harlingen, TX. The site will be in the same area as medical centers and medical providers offices. Land has been made available for both the medical school as well as the VA surgery center.
Veterans have agreed that the Harlingen site be the site of the flagship VA hospital for the newly created TX Valley Coastal Bend Health Services District that has been recently created to provide health services for the area by the VA.
All is in place. Veterans and their supporters have done all they can to satisfy the VA. It is in their hands now.
But veterans do not want to just say that its at the VA hands now. They will continue with the momentum and keep forwarding the VA requests for a VA hospital. The money is there, the land is there and most important the need is there and it is a great need that has to be solved.
Enough is enough, Veterans are now demanding a VA hospital for the area. No more band-aid types of gestures from our government.
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