I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1232 

To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to construct a full service 

hospital in Far South Texas. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 26, 2009 

Mr. ORTIZ (for himself, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. CUELLAR, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE

JOHNSON of Texas, and Mr. DOGGETT) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to construct 

a full service hospital in Far South Texas. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Far South Texas Vet5 erans Medical Center Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; DEFINITION. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 

9 (1) The current and future health care needs of 

10 veterans residing in the Far South Texas area are 


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1 not being fully met by the Department of Veterans 

2 Affairs. 

3 (2) The Department of Veterans Affairs esti4 mates that more than 117,000 veterans reside in 

5 Far South Texas. 

6 (3) In its Capital Asset Realignment for En7 hanced Services study, the Department of Veterans 

8 Affairs found that fewer than three percent of its 

9 enrollees in the Valley-Coastal Bend Market of Vet10 erans Integrated Service Network 17 reside within 

11 its acute hospital access standards. 

12 (4) Travel times for veterans from the market 

13 referred to in paragraph (3) can exceed six hours 

14 from their residences to the nearest Department of 

15 Veterans Affairs hospital for acute inpatient health 

16 care. 

17 (5) Even with the significant travel times, vet18 erans from Far South Texas demonstrate a high de19 mand for health care services from the Department 

20 of Veterans Affairs. 

21 (6) Current deployments involving members of 

22 the Texas National Guard and Reservists from 

23 Texas will continue to increase demand for medical 

24 services provided by the Department of Veterans Af25 fairs. 


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1 (b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this Act, the term 

2 ‘‘Far South Texas’’ means the following counties of the 

3 State of Texas: Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, 

4 Crockett, DeWitt, Dimmit, Duval, Goliad, Hidalgo, Jack5 son, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, 

6 Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Victoria, Webb, Willacy, and 

7 Zapata. 

8 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF MAJOR 

9 MEDICAL FACILITY IN FAR SOUTH TEXAS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

11 is authorized to carry out the construction of a major med12 ical facility project in Far South Texas. The project shall 

13 consist of a full service Department of Veterans Affairs 

14 hospital, in an amount not to exceed $175,000,000. 

15 (b) FACILITY LOCATION.—The facility referred to in 

16 subsection (a) shall be located in a county in Far South 

17 Texas that the Secretary determines to be most appro18 priate to meeting the health care needs of veterans in Far 

19 South Texas. 

20 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 

22 Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af23 fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report 

24 identifying and outlining the determination of the Sec25 retary under subsection (b) and a detailed estimate of the 


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1 cost of and time necessary for completion of the project 

2 authorized under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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