Delegation Urges VA Secretary to Withdraw Plans to Close Hot Springs VA from Obama Admin. Budget Proposal

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) and Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) today urged Department of Veterans Administration (VA) Secretary Robert McDonald to withdraw all plans to reconfigure the Black Hills Health Care System (BHHCS) from the Obama Administration’s budget proposal. Last week, the administration’s budget request proposed measures to close Hot Springs VA facilities, despite previous assurances that the VA would not act without finishing a fair and thorough Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

The delegation writes: “…the VA’s FY 2016 Congressional Budget Submission targeting the Hot Springs VA Medical Center is a direct reversal of the VA’s repeated assurances that it would not proceed with a predetermined outcome.  The request also serves to deepen the distrust of impacted veterans who well remember the VA’s budget request to vacate the campus without conducting an EIS.  We request that the VA expressly remove all Enhanced Use Lease provisions pertaining to the Hot Springs VA from its FY 2016 budget request and judiciously proceed with the EIS.”

Full text of the letter can be found below:

February 10, 2015

The Honorable Robert McDonald

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Department of Veterans Affairs

810 Vermont Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20420

Dear Secretary McDonald:

We are writing to express our concern regarding the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) budget submission for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016.

As you know, we continue to have concerns about the impact the VA’s proposal to reconfigure the Black Hills Health Care System (BHHCS).  For over four years, the South Dakota delegation has been closely engaged with the VA and veteran stakeholders on this issue.  Throughout this time, the VA has assured us that any final decision would not be made until it completed an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in full accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act.  

However, the inclusion of 14 separate line items in the VA’s FY 2016 Congressional Budget Submission targeting the Hot Springs VA Medical Center is a direct reversal of the VA’s repeated assurances that it would not proceed with a predetermined outcome.  The request also serves to deepen the distrust of impacted veterans who well remember the VA’s budget request to vacate the campus without conducting an EIS.  We request that the VA expressly remove all Enhanced Use Lease provisions pertaining to the Hot Springs VA from its FY 2016 budget request and judiciously proceed with the EIS.

Moreover, given the persistent discrepancies with the data used to formulate the VA’s proposed reconfiguration of the BHHCS, as well as current concerns with management decisions, we again request the VA make every effort to return the Hot Springs VA to its former level of operations and staff before conducting a five-year review to gather reliable data.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.  We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,