Press Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representatives Tim Walz (D-MN) and Kathleen Rice (D-NY), members of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, today demanded that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) submit a complete report detailing what has led to the repeated delays and staggering cost overruns in the construction of the VA medical facility in Aurora, Colorado. VA officials testified at yesterday’s Subcommittee hearing that the project is now estimated to cost $1.73 billion, more than double the original estimate. Congress authorized $880 million for the project and would need to authorize an additional $830 million by mid-May to meet the new estimate. In a joint letter to Stella Fiotes, Executive Director of the VA’s Office of Construction and Facilities Management, Reps. Rice and Walz demanded that the Subcommittee receive more detailed information about what has caused the construction delays and cost overruns before Congress considers authorizing additional funds. Rice and Walz also requested that a complete report be submitted no later than one week from today.

The letter is available here.

“In the past few years, the estimated costs of this project have gone from $328 million to $600 million to $800 million and now to $1.73 billion, and meanwhile veterans in the area still have no hospital and no hope of seeing one anytime soon,” said Congresswoman Kathleen Rice. “Right now we have no reason to trust that any taxpayer funds put into this project will benefit veterans in need of quality health care. We need to know exactly what’s gone wrong and who is responsible, we need to know without a doubt that this mismanagement will not continue, and we need that information as soon as possible.”

“This project is extremely troubling, and the American people deserve to know what happened, why it happened, and who’s responsible,” said Rep. Walz. “As someone who believes in the good work the VA does, the failure of this project is so frustrating because it plays into the narrative VA has written for itself over the last few months: a narrative of incompetence. A narrative of utter disregard to serve veterans and get things right. Put simply, a narrative of distrust, and it’s extremely disheartening. The VA needs to earn back the American people’s trust. They can start by explaining this project.”

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