{"id":16396,"date":"2019-02-27T21:22:04","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T21:22:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/27\/brac-round-for-va-facilities-could-be-sped-up\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:26:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:26:06","slug":"brac-round-for-va-facilities-could-be-sped-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2019\/02\/27\/brac-round-for-va-facilities-could-be-sped-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Large-scale closures of VA facilities could be coming sooner than expected. Here\u2019s why."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Veterans Affairs\u2019 version of a base closing round<\/a> could start years ahead of schedule, department officials told Congress on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the VA Mission Act signed into law last year, the president is authorized to appoint an Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission for the department in 2022. To inform the group\u2019s work, VA officials were given three years to perform regional market assessments<\/a> across the country to determine areas where there were medical facility shortages, gluts and other challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie<\/a> said those assessments were delayed slightly late last year but could still be finished in the next 12 months. If so, that could create a problematic gap between collecting that information and starting evaluations in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\t