Legislation for veterans' hospital passes first hurdle
Rio Grande Valley veterans inched closer Wednesday to their dream of a local VA hospital, as legislation funding the complex passed a voice vote on the Senate floor.
“This is the first step toward delivering on a major improvement in health care for Valley veterans,” Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said in a prepared statement.
“Valley veterans have waited far too long for adequate health services, and this legislation clears the path to deliver a major expansion of services as quickly as possible.”
The Texas Republican introduced the legislation based on the results of a study she requested, which recommended the medical facility be built in Harlingen. The closest veterans hospital is in San Antonio.
Booz Allen Hamilton, a Virginia-based consulting firm that conducted the study, estimated the Valley’s veteran population at 45,000. Of that, 15,000 are enrolled with the Department of Veterans Affairs to receive benefits, according to Brownsville Herald archives.
