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South Dakota's congressional delegation officially announced Wednesday its opposition to a restructuring plan for the VA Health Care System of the Black Hills that would close most of the existing VA facilities in Hot Springs.
Sens. Tim Johnson and John Thune and Rep. Kristi Noem have questioned and complained about the restructuring plan since it was announced in December, but they stopped short of actually opposing it until Wednesday.
Announcing opposition now offers another opportunity to pressure U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki for a meeting about the issue in Hot Springs. The delegation's letter follows a similar request three weeks ago to Shinseki from congressional members from South Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska.
Advocates of saving the aging VA facilities in Hot Springs said Wednesday they appreciated the latest effort from the delegation to get a response from Washington, D.C.
Rich Gross, a member of the Save the VA executive committee in Hot Springs, said he worries that the Nov. 6 election could further delay overdue answers from Shinseki's office. But he still hopes for a meeting and a chance to argue the case against closing the Hot Springs facilities directly to the VA secretary.
"We're still waiting for some positive statement from the secretary's office concerning a meeting, whether that means the delegation's invitation to come to Hot Springs, which we'd prefer, or includes an invitation for the delegation and us to go there," Gross said, referring to Washington, D.C.
It's long past time for answers from the VA, Gross said.
"The longer this goes on, the more unsettled things remain at the VA in Hot Springs among the employees, the more unsettled the community is," he said. "It's a community that needs to move forward, and we've been waiting almost a year."
Steve DiStasio, director of the VA Black Hills Health Care System, was part of a meeting on Oct. 10 with VA officials in Washington, D.C. He said Wednesday that Black Hills officials have reviewed comments and suggestions from critics of the plan and offered a recommendation that he wasn't prepared to discuss publicly.
"It is now in the secretary's office, and our role is to await a decision or further instructions," DiStasio said.
