Date: 1996-06-04
Speaker: SONNY MONTGOMERY (democrat)
Chamber: H

and my subcommittee colleague. CHET EDWARDS. for their efforts to meld this bill into an effective piece of legislation which addresses the highest priority facility construction needs within the VA system. H.R. 3376 authorizes the appropriation of $422.3 million for 21 projects which includes the construction of 8 outpatient clinics. renovation of 10 priority patient environment projects. and the correction of major seismic problems at 3 California medical centers. The legislation also authorizes $12.2 million for six major medical facility leases. I would like to strongly reiterate that this legislation does not add one hospital bed to the system but instead puts the focus on needed improvements for patient privacy. safety. and renovation of the valuable infrastructure of aging and often historic mental health facilities. Since 1969. the VA health. care system has closed over 54.000 beds to adjust to the changes in health care and this legislation seeks to assist the VA in its continued transition from a hospitalbased system into a health care system. I would like to highlight a very significant provision in this bill which requires the VA to develop a 5year strategic plan for its health care system. Within the development of the plan. the VA is required to address such factors as veteran population trends. resource distribution. cost of patient care. the capacity of nonFederal providers within their geographic planning networks. the missions of each facility within the network. and specifically. the distribution of the important specialized services on both the network and national levels. Effective planning will make the VA a more effective and efficient provider of quality health services able to better serve veterans by placing services where veterans need them. Over the years. many of my colleagues and their veteran constituents have voiced concerns about the unequal distribution of VA resources. This bill represents a significant step in creating parity for veterans by requiring VA to compare expenditures of veterans by geographic networks and then shifting resources to follow the veteran. In strengthening strategic planning the bill also requires that as part of the annual authorization process the VA provide a report on the top 20 major medical construction projects. the relative of each project by category. and a description of the factors that account for the rank of each project. In this era of public accountability. it is critical that each major expenditure speak to the highest priority needs of veterans. The bill also raises the threshold for major construction projects from the current level of $3 to $5 million. It would also limit the scope of the socalled grandfather clause and require that major projects be authorized annually to ensure facility need and accountability in the major construction program. The bill removes the requirement that the Veterans Health Administration be organized along certain clinical specialties and allows the Under Secretary greater flexibility in the organization of the headquarters staff. Last and most importantly. this bill honors three great Americans by naming VA facilities after them. They are G.V. Sonny Montgomery Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Jackson. MS. the James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center. in Johnson City. TN and the H. John Heinz III Veterans Affairs Nursing Care Center. Aspinwall. PA. The rapidly changing health care environment. coupled with our joint responsibility to the veteran and the taxpayer. are satisfied by the provisions of this legislation. I strongly urge its passage. Mr. Speaker. I want to especially give my personal tribute to the gentleman from Mississippi. G.V. SONNY MONTGOMERY. a true friend of veterans and no one more deserving of this recognition and this honor. My predecessor. a longtime member of the Committee on Veterans Affairs. John Paul Hammerschmidt. regarded SONNY as his dearest and closest friend in all of Congress. if not all the world. I share that same affection and am glad to pay that honor to him today and to support this legislation.