Veterans Hospital for South Texas

December 14, 2011 Update on VA hospital efforts

What is happening with Congressman's Henry Cuellar's HB 1318? He filed this bill and it was sent to the House Veterans Affairs Committee, where it was send to the House sub-committee on Veteans Health. In June 2011, Cuellar attached his bill to the Military and Veterans Affairs and other related agencies Appropriation Bill-HB 2055 inJune of this year.  He claimed that it would bring us closer to getting a Full Service Medical Center for the valley. That bill passed the House with a 411-5 vote and was sent to the Senate. HB 1318 calls for an expansion the Harlingen VA Surgical Center to a Full Service Medical Center House Report 112-94 (accompanying HR 2055, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012).

The House Committee Report included the following language regarding the attachment:
Health care center expansions- Recognizing the lack of accessible VA services in many regions of the country, the Committee urges the Secretary to include in the VA Strategic Capital Improvement Plan the expansion of existing VA health care centers to include in-patient accommodations, urgent care services, and the full range of services required by women veterans when the absence of such services locally requires veterans to make round trips of more than five hours to access such services at a VA facility.

The Senate also passed 2055 and Congress agreed to send it to the President for his consideration on December 8, 2011. However, the final vote did not include anything on the amendment filed by Cuellar. At this time, we do not know if indeed HB 1318 as attached by Cuellar is part of the bill. The Appropriations bill is likely to become law.

Veterans need to call Cuellar's office and ask him or his staff what happened to his attached bill. Call now before it is send to the POTUS. With the holidays fastly approaching there might not be any new filings, but there is still time in case HB 1318 was not part of the bill.

Update on VA hospital

Message body

Harlingen, TX

Arturo Treto Garza

956.226.9176

December 10, 2011

This past summer, Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) included legislation in the fiscal year 2012 Military Construction and Veterans Funding bill t(HB 2055) that would bring south Texas one step closer to having a full-service VA hospital. He attached his HB 1318 to it. The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday June 14, 2011by a vote of 411 to 5 and on June 15, 2011 and was referred to the Senate.

Congressman Cuellar’s legislation calls for the expansion of veterans’ health care access and urges the VA Administration to prioritize the construction of a VA hospital in south Texas by placing it on the VA Strategic Capital Improvement Plan (SCIF), designed to place the project on a priority list. Additionally, Congressman Cuellar has introduced a bill to expand the existing VA health care center in Harlingen to provide in-patient care, urgent care services and a full range of services for women veterans as well as other support services.

The Senate voted on July 17, 2011 and passed with an 89-11 vote The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs funding bill (2055). The Senate voted on amendments of their own and again passed with a vote of 97-2. Cuellar’s amendment was included and remains as part of the bill. The bill now moves to a Conference Committee where both Chambers need to agree on. . The House agreed to a Conference Committee on this past Wednesday December 7, 2011 and presented a list of Conferees. There will be 19 conferees from the House and 17 from the Senate. The Senate also submitted names of the Conferees.

Veterans in south Texas are optimistic in the passage of the bill and that it will be forwarded to the POTUS. The POTUS has 10 days (inclding Sundays) to act on the action or it becomes law automatically. Of course he can review it and sign it or not approve it. Veterans hope that he signs it since he promised to help during his Presidential Election campaign.

At this time, a date has not been set for the Conference Committee conferees to meet. Veterans will monitor 2055’s movement. If the bill becomes law, then a proposal that is being worked on by the local Veterans Health Care Network will stand a better chance of getting funded through the SCIF..

V A Hospital for South Texas

Here we go again.  We are launching another effort through our Senators offices. They have agreed to submit and amendment to the National Defense Authorization Bill pending before Congress.The National Defense bill is set to pass and amendments will also be approved if the amendments are allowed.  It is a long shot, but one that we need to look at.

 Here is the Press Release issued by the Senators.

UNITED STATES SENATE
KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, JOHN CORNYN United States Senators - Texas For Immediate Release	CONTACT: Megan Mitchell (Cornyn) (202) 224-0704 Jeff Nelligan (Hutchison), 202-224-9767 Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Sens. Cornyn, Hutchison Offer Amendment To Bring Inpatient VA Facility To The Valley

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, today offered an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 that would require the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs to incorporate a full-service inpatient health care facility into the existing South Texas Veterans Affairs Health Care Center in Harlingen.

Sens. Cornyn and Hutchison have introduced similar legislation in the past and continue to make the case for a VA inpatient facility in Far South Texas with top-ranking VA officials, as well as the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (see attached). While the Senators have supported and welcomed expansions to outpatient and other services at the existing Harlingen VA facilities, they maintain that access to VA inpatient care still must be provided.

“This holiday season will see the return of tens of thousands of service members from locations across the globe, including the remaining 40,000 troops in Iraq who are winding down our nation’s 9-year mission there. Already, the growing population of 100,000 veterans in Far South Texas lacks adequate access to full-service inpatient health care, and further delay in providing this population with the local inpatient care they deserve is unacceptable. I will not give up the fight to make this inpatient facility a reality for the veterans of South Texas,” Sen. Cornyn said.

“A grateful nation cares for those who have answered the call to serve, even after they leave the battlefield,” said Sen. Hutchison. “The veterans of South Texas answered their nation’s call, and many of them went in harm’s way and risked everything for their country. This amendment will help to ensure that these South Texas veterans receive the care they deserve.”

The hospital issue is not dead. Veterans are still at it. It has been a long sought goal of many veterans and for once they feel that they have had an impact at the national level. Veterans must continue forward.  All veterans that have been active in this movement should re-charge their batteries and once again make an all out push for a VA hospital for the area.  Ana Garcia of  Cornyn’s office has been very aggressive in committing the senator’s office to make every effort to move the issue. Communications with the Senator’s national office are via satellite and those sessions are the next best thing to being there.  Veterans are counting on her continued full support.

Veterans Meet with State Rep. Lozano

Veterans meet with State Representative J. M. Lozano in Harlingen on October 20, 211. L-R: Joe Ibarra, Pete Prax Garza, Pedro Pete Herrera, Manuel Pena, Rep. Lozano, Irene T. Garza, Adelaido Lalo Cantu and Arturo Treto Garza.

Veterans Affairs Committee comes to South Texas

October 21, 2011

Veterans in the Rio Grande Valley failed to take advantage of a scheduled trip by Congressman Jeff Miller, the Chairman of the U S House Veterans Affairs Committee. Miller was invited to a summit sponsored by Congressman Blake Farenthold (TX-27). The Summit was held at the Del Mar College Campus in Corpus Christi, TX.
Valley veterans send hundreds of letters to the House Veterans Affairs Committee asking that Congressman Ruben Hinojosa's HB 837 be placed on the agenda for a markup. Congressman Miller is the one that decides what appears on the agenda to be discussed and voted on. At this time it is not known when the next Markup Session will be held, but it should not be that long.
Valley veterans could have met with him in person and made a personal requests. Also, Congressman Hinojosa could have let valley veterans know about the summit and Miller's visit and requested veteran representatives be allowed to meet with Miller. Farenthold has signed as Co-Sponsor of HB 837. Another opportunity like this will probably not happened during this Session.
Veterans must be more vigilant on happenings at the Veterans Affairs Committee. Miller was also instrumental in assisting Congressman Henry Cuellar get his HB 1318 attached to HB 2055. This bill called for an expansion of the Harlingen VA Surgical Center to a Full Service Medical Center using the Veterans Health Administration Specific Investment Capital Fund. HB 2055 has passed both Chambers in Congress and is set to go to the President.
Maybe this is why veterans in the Valley feel like they have won the battle for a Veterans Affairs Hospital. They are optimistic about it and hope that it is allowed to spend funds for HB 1318. The SPIC plan was accepting applications for funding from the different VA Health Care Systems throughout the nation. The first cycle would receive application by October 1, 2011. The local VA Health System did not submit one and it is hoped that the proposal will be ready for the second cycle with a deadline of April 2012.
Some veterans feel that pressure must still be placed on Congress Veteran Affairs Committees to markup HB 837, which is the sister bill of S 396 filed by Senator John Cornyn.

VA Hospital

State Representative J.M. Lozano (District 43) discussed the possibilites of getting the State to partner with the Federal Government in the development of an expansion of the Harlingen VA Surgical Center to a Full Service Medical Center. Veterans are looking for help from any of the Funds from the Texas Land Commission, the Military and Veterans Appropriations Committee and the Committee of Health. Proposition 8 (HJR7) passed in 2009 but has not being allocated any funds. The new law is not functional.
Lozano states that he will seek the assisstance of the other local representatives to get their ideas and suspport.

Veterans met with Texas State Reprentative District 43 on October 20 in Harlingen. Rep. Lozano wanted to know how he can help veterans. The conversation centered around Proposition 1 and the VA hospital issue. He agreed to future meeting for updates to and from him. He sounds real committed to helping.