Harlingen City Hall Harlingen, TX 78550 July 14, 2011 RGV Valley Vets met with Chris Boswell, Mayor of Harlingen, and Gabe Gonzales, Asst. City Manager regarding strategy for the new Full Service Medical Center for south Texas. SB 396, HB 837 and HB 1318 were discussed. Ruben Cantu asked that the city write a letter in support of these bills to the Veterans Affairs committee of each Chamber. Treto Garza also asked that a letter be send to Lt. Gen. Eric Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs inviting him to come to the valley and visit the new Surgical Center. This visit will convince him that there is room at the facility to be expanded to a Full Service Medical Center and avoiding expensive construction costs for a new facility. All the bills mentioned above have language addressing the need to expand the Harlingen facility to a Full Medical Service Center. Joe Ibarra informed Mayor Boswell and Asst. Manager Gonzales that veterans needed the continued support of the city because things were shaping up and we had made some progress in our efforts. He added that the package handed to him had a full copy of all three bills. The mayor told the group of 12 that he would indeed write a letter of support to the Veterans Affairs Committees. He also stated that the RAHC medical school facilities woud help in making the site more receptive since VA looked for some type of medical school to be close to a VA hospital. Cantu added that this is why it was important that the city of Harlingen be the flagship hospital for the newly created VA health care system. The mayor told the group that he was in close contact with Jeff Milligan on the issue. He stated that Mr. Milligan and he had the opportunity to visit with Lt. Governor Dewhurst in Austin regarding the medical school and medical facilities in Harlingen. The Lt. Gov. supports the efforts to bring better health care to south Texas. Alex Trejo of the Harlingen Veterans Advisory Board also attended the meeting. Cantu is also a member of that committee. Commander Pete Garza of the Disabled American Veterans and two of his members were present as well as two members of the Vietnam Veterans of America and two from the American Legion. The others present were interested veterans that have been active in the quest for a Full Medical Service Center. The group provided a detailed list of all the Congressional Bills filed in Congress since 1983 to present. A total of 13 bills have been filed. This session has seen a lot of activity on two of the bills. HB 1318 was attached to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Other Related Agencies Appropiration Bill of 2012-H 2055 which passed by a 411 to 5 vote. S 396 was presented to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on June 8, 2011, but was not on the agenda for a markup on June 29, 2011. The group informed the Mayor that this is the very first time that bills submitted in Congress have been moved. It shows that the efforts of veterans are being recognized. Veterans attending were: Sisto Barrera American Legion Alberto Perez American Legion Manuel Pena Vietnam Veterans of America Pablo Flores Vietnam Veterans of America Pete Garza Disabled American Veterans Bill Rodenbaugh Disabled American Veterans Alex Trejo Harlingen Veterans Advisory Ruben Cantu Harlingen Veterans Advisory Joe Ibarra U S Army Retired Adelaido Cantu U S Army Retired Arturo Treto Garza Irene T. Garza was also present. |
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