Washington DC– Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07), along with Sens. Salazar, Udall and Reps. DeGette, J. Salazar, Markey, Lamborn and Coffman sent a letter to the incoming Secretary of the VA, Gen. Eric Shinseki, requesting him to tour the new site for the proposed VA Hospital to be built at the former Fitzsimons campus in Aurora. 

In the letter, the delegation expressed their concern with the ongoing delays in constructing a new Veterans Medical Center . 

The delegation states in the letter, “despite being named a “major construction” priority by the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced services (CARES) commission, after eight years and three Secretaries of Veterans’ Affairs, the project remains at the starting line and is a source of significant anxiety and apprehension amongst our veterans’ community.  We look to your leadership to see this important undertaking to its completion.”

The delegation letter explained the long history of trying to begin construction on the hospital, including current Sec. Peake’s hospital-within-a-hospital concept.  Many local veterans’ service organizations are opposed to that idea, and the Representatives and Senators are committed to working with the VA and other stakeholders to find a cost-effective way to build a stand-alone facility meeting the needs to care for our veterans.

As noted in the letter, Congress authorized $568,400,000 for the project, of which $188,300,000 has been appropriated.  Approximately 40 acres of land and a new administrative office building are already acquired for construction purposes.

The letter concludes by inviting the incoming secretary to tour the site of the new facility at his earliest convenience “to see first hand the potential this project has to live up to the promises our country made to the men and women who served our nation’s highest calling.”

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