An file photo shows an aerial view of the VA hospital construction site in Aurora. (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)
WASHINGTON — Colorado lawmakers are urging the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to submit a plan “as soon as possible” that would spell out how the agency would pay for a troubled VA hospital project in Aurora, which is over-budget by hundreds of millions of dollars and at risk of running out of money this month.
In a letter sent Tuesday to VA Secretary Robert McDonald, Colorado U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner, as well as U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, insisted that the additional money come from the agency’s own pocket. The lawmakers also asked that the VA explain in specifics its plans for completion of the project, which has seen its cost balloon to $1.73 billion and left the VA roughly $830 million short.
“The VA’s proposal must include a thorough detailing of the project’s final costs, final completion date and a comprehensive description of how the VA intends to fully fund the project’s completion,” they wrote. “The funding proposal for the facility must focus on identifying funds from within the existing VA budget. It’s clear that there are areas for reform and efficiencies that can be found within the VA.”
The one-page note from Bennet, Coffman and Gardner comes at a time of great uncertainty for the Aurora project. Work at the site nearly shut down last month because Congress almost failed to come up with funding that would continue construction. Only a last-minute bridge deal, worth about $20 million, kept workers on the job.
But that bridge deal only will fund work for a few weeks at most. Now Congress and the VA are back at the negotiating table trying to find a solution. The VA has proposed long-term funding plans before –- such as tapping a $5 billion fund created to make the agency more efficient -– but Congress largely has opposed those ideas.
“Acting now and delivering a real and reasonable plan, which includes substantive reform and the aggressive pursuit of those who have abused the public trust, and which minimizes the additional costs to complete the Aurora facility is the only way to avoid another last minute manufactured crisis,” they concluded.
