IOWA CITY -- U.S. Rep. Phil Hare listened intently to Allen Reynolds, a Vietnam War veteran, as Mr. Reynolds sat on the edge of his hospital bed.

Rep. Hare, D-Rock Island, and Mr. Reynolds of Oxford, Iowa, met during Rep. Hare's tour of the Iowa City Veterans Administration Medical Center Saturday morning.

The congressman was there as a result of a Department of Veterans Affairs review released last week. The review was spurred by reports of substandard conditions at an outpatient-care unit of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a non-VA facility in Washington, D.C.

The review found that a majority of the 1,400 VA facilities across the country have typical "wear and tear," and noted dust and cobwebs at the 55-year-old Iowa City hospital.

Rep. Hare, a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said he didn't come to Iowa City to look for "cobwebs" but to see what he could do to help veterans and VA hospitals.

"On behalf of veterans, ask them," Mr. Reynolds told him. "Ask them."

Mr. Reynolds said his wife became sick and couldn't work anymore. "Now I got no income and got no insurance," he told Rep. Hare.

Mr. Reynolds, who was a sergeant in the Air Force, was being treated for diverticulitis, an inflammation of an abnormal pouch in the large intestine. The veteran hoped to leave the hospital today.

"Well, I'm glad you're doing better," said Rep. Hare, who was directed to a laptop outside the patient's room.

Nurse Lynne Bradley scanned the bar code on a wristband she retrieved from Mr. Reynolds. The laptop pulled up his file and showed which medication she would need to administer.

Rep. Hare was impressed with the hospital's paperless medical records system. Dr. John Cowdery, hospital chief of staff, showed how doctors can pull up X-rays on a computer without having to run down to the Radiology Department.

Barry Sharp, director of the VA Iowa City Health Care System, said hospital workers check the conditions of the building on a weekly basis.

"I don't want the perception to be that we react when we end up in the headlines," he said, referring to the Veterans Affairs review. "We're ready every day."

The hospital has a polytrauma clinic that treats blast victims who have injuries such as burns, amputations, psychological trauma and hearing and vision problems, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs Web site. Many soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffered severe brain injuries.

Rep. Hare said he has no regrets about voting for the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq Accountability Act, which passed the House Friday.

The bill sets a time to withdraw troops from Iraq by September 2008. The legislation also secures $3.1 billion for polytrauma centers, more employees to process veteran claims, prosthetic research and other veterans issues.

"I don't like having to fund this war, but I also realize that I can't in good conscious not vote for funds to support the troops," Rep. Hare said.