The wheels of bureaucracy turn v-e-r-y slowly. Sometimes you can hardly see them moving at all. So it's all the more heartening when there's a leap forward.

Just such a leap was the announcement by U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Granger, that the Department of Veterans Affairs has approved funding for a new outpatient clinic in Elkhart County. The VA anticipates that the new clinic will be open early next year.

That very short timeline suggests that the clinic will be located in an existing building. It likely will be placed in eastern Elkhart County, where it will be convenient to a large number of veterans in Indiana and Michigan who now must travel to the very busy South Bend VA clinic.

Donnelly has taken up veterans' health issues with welcome enthusiasm, as did his predecessor, former 2nd District Rep. Chris Chocola. The clinic may actually be located in the 3rd District, which is represented by Rep. Mark Souder, R-Fort Wayne. Souder, who shared the podium with Donnelly when the funding announcement was made, represents eastern Elkhart County.

The VA clinic in South Bend, busy as it is, isn't quite at use capacity by VA standards. But it serves 14 counties in Michigan and Indiana, so many patients must travel a considerable distance to receive treatment.

It was widely anticipated in 2004 that the VA would approve an application for an eastern Elkhart County clinic site. But it did not. Both Souder and Chocola were disappointed with that decision and both pressed hard for reconsideration. Upon his election, Donnelly joined the effort.

Three years later, with growing pressure on the veterans health care system brought on by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is a relief that funding for the clinic has been assured. The three congressman who had a role in this -- two current and one former -- deserve the appreciation of all.