Rounds Receives Assurances that Incoming VA Secretary Will Work to Keep Hot Springs VA Open, Modernize Facility

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, today questioned Denis McDonough, nominee to be Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on the future of the VA facility in Hot Springs, SD.

Rounds asked: “The Hot Springs VA facility in Hot Springs, South Dakota, is a critical part of the department’s Black Hill Health Care System… I’d like your commitment, if confirmed, to work on moving the Hot Springs facility and literally the Black Hills facilities themselves into this century with regard to the services that they’re providing, and to lay out a long-term plan for their success for veterans in the rural areas.

McDonough response: “I recommit myself to you now to work closely on [Hot Springs] and addressing the needs in and around the Hot Springs facility, in as much as it is such a critical piece of the delivery capability, not only in South Dakota but also in [surrounding states].”

Full video is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-Vb4-YpbpM&feature=youtu.be