They told us, as they have been all along, that the licensing and certification problems with the Barstow and Chula Vista Veterans home must first be resolved before funding for the Lancaster home can move forward. For whatever reason we are not getting through to them. They can't seem to understand what we are saying. While we know and understand the problems with the Barstow and Chula Vista homes, and we want to see them resolved, very little effort is needed in order to get the ball rolling on the home in Lancaster. California already has the money to fund the construction.
Ground is ready to be broken at a site already designated and donated in Lancaster.
The federal matching funds are practically sitting on a table in Washington, merely waiting for the State to put-up its dollars. There is absolutely no excuse not to move forward. All the pieces are in place. Further delay threatens to push back the completion of the home until 2007 or 2008. And with nearly 1,200 veterans dying each day, California can't wait that long.