{"id":17206,"date":"2022-07-21T14:38:03","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T14:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/07\/21\/house-defunds-va-hospital-closure-commission-in-budget-plan\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:53:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:53:00","slug":"house-defunds-va-hospital-closure-commission-in-budget-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/21\/house-defunds-va-hospital-closure-commission-in-budget-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"House defunds VA hospital closure commission in budget plan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">House lawmakers on Wednesday approved plans for a $300-billion plus Veterans Affairs budget with language barring any spending on the controversial <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2022\/03\/14\/dozens-of-va-medical-centers-slated-for-closure-total-rebuilds-under-new-infrastructure-plan\/\" target=\"_blank\">Asset and Infrastructure Review<\/a> Commission,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2022\/06\/27\/vas-hospital-closure-commision-wont-move-ahead-after-senators-vow-to-block-the-effort\/\" target=\"_blank\"> the latest blow<\/a> to efforts to shutter aging veterans hospitals across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a bipartisan 238-189 vote, lawmakers approved language that would shift $5 million in funding for the review plans to homeless veterans support programs instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move comes a month after key Senate leaders \u2014 including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2022\/07\/20\/vas-16-billion-medical-records-overhaul-could-triple-in-cost\/\" target=\"_blank\">Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee<\/a> Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont. \u2014 said they planned to block the effort by refusing to confirm the nine nominees presented by the White House for the commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials in both chambers said they were unhappy with the recommendations for medical facility realignment presented by VA leaders earlier this year, which called for 35 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in 21 different states to be closed or completely reconstructed as part of a nearly $2 trillion infrastructure overhaul.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2022\/06\/27\/vas-hospital-closure-commision-wont-move-ahead-after-senators-vow-to-block-the-effort\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6309731627_9344f1bdf1_h.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Senators vow to block VA\u2019s hospital closure commission<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Senators said the AIR Commission process has been flawed and unnecessary, despite nearly five years of effort.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe recommendations advanced so far as part of the VA\u2019s Asset and Infrastructure Review process will lead to the closure or downsizing of nearly one third of this country\u2019s VA medical facilities and community-based outpatient clinics,\u201d said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., chairman of the House Rules Committee and sponsor of the amendment, in a floor speech on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI believe that is unacceptable and frankly a rotten way to treat veterans who have put their lives on the line for this country. This entire process is a backdoor way to cut services for veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VA officials have said they have nearly 1,000 non-vacant but underused facilities spread across the country, creating a significant drain on department resources. Closing many of them would require an act of Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That was supposed to be the job of the AIR Commission, approved by lawmakers in 2018 to mimic the Department of Defense\u2019s Base Realignment and Closure process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following the VA Secretary\u2019s recommendations for facility changes, the nine-member commission was scheduled to spend a year analyzing the moves and meeting with local officials to offer its own recommendations to the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The language included in the House bill approved Wednesday won\u2019t become law until after lengthy budget negotiations with senators in coming months, but it serves as another indicator that the commission won\u2019t be able to meet its spring 2023 timeline for that White House report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In passing the amendment removing the commission\u2019s funding, 43 Republicans joined with 195 Democrats. Only 27 Democrats joined with 164 Republicans to oppose the plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2022\/03\/14\/dozens-of-va-medical-centers-slated-for-closure-total-rebuilds-under-new-infrastructure-plan\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6310214164_210cffd497_k.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Dozens of VA medical centers slated for closure, total rebuilds under new infrastructure plan<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The plan still must be reviewed by an independent commission and approved by Congress before changes start to go into effect.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several conservative leaders have decried the end of the AIR effort in recent weeks, saying it leaves VA with an outdated and bloated infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis process is vital for the future of modern, state-of-the-art VA care,\u201d House Veterans Affairs Committee ranking member Mike Bost, R-Ill., said in a statement late last month. \u201c[Abandoning the commission] does an immense disservice to veterans and VA staff who will feel its repercussions for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a press conference with reporters on Wednesday, VA Secretary Denis McDonough said that efforts to improve the department\u2019s infrastructure will continue despite the commission setbacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe will continue to update [local] assessments,\u201d he said. \u201cThat will then inform our internal infrastructure modernization plans, and we will continue that work on our own accord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The VA budget plan \u2014 the largest in department history \u2014 was approved by a largely party-line 220-207 vote as part of a more than $400 billion package that also included planned fiscal 2023 spending for the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Transportation and Agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate leaders have not yet said when they plan to hold a vote on their drafts of the VA appropriations plans for next fiscal year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The $5 million for commission operations would be shifted to homeless veterans support programs instead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":39123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,89,12,26,62,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3222],"class_list":["post-17206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"6OH5DEYXJ5F4PJAE7SURASFZIQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2022\/07\/21\/house-defunds-va-hospital-closure-commission-in-budget-plan\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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