Southeast Allegheny News

WASHINGTON, D.C. —On May 12, Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) introduced the Build, Utilize, Invest, Learn, and Deliver (BUILD) for Veterans Act of 2023—commonsense legislation to modernize and streamline the delivery of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities and other infrastructure projects, bolster its workforce, and save public money by expediting the disposal or repurposing of unused and vacant buildings owned by the VA. 

“Getting my fellow veterans their earned healthcare and benefits starts with ensuring the VA has the high-quality infrastructure in place to provide the care and services veterans depend on,” said Rep. Deluzio. “As the VA is poised to welcome in so many more veterans due to the PACT Act’s implementation, we need to be investing in our VA healthcare facilities. The BUILD for Veterans Act will help in this effort by strengthening VA’s capacity to deliver veterans state-of-the-art care and saving public money in the process.” 

“Getting our veterans the access to healthcare they deserve starts with bolstering the Department of Veterans Affairs’ infrastructure,” said Ranking Member Takano. “With many VA facilities over 50 years old, veterans know how hard it can be to get an appointment booked, access a facility nearby their homes, and receive all of the healthcare services they need. By modernizing the systems and infrastructure through the implementation of the BUILD for Veterans Act, our veterans will receive better care and have a more streamlined experience with VA.”    

Rep. Mrvan stated, “Thank you to Rep. Deluzio for his leadership to advance the BUILD for Veterans Act and improve the capabilities of our VA healthcare infrastructure. I look forward to continuing to work with all of my colleagues to advance this critical initiative to ensure the VA has the infrastructure in place to provide all of our selfless veterans with the care they have earned.” 

Currently, the VA is facing challenges retaining the workers and consistent funding to initiate the building or remodeling of facilities identified by the Department. To overcome this hurdle the BUILD for Veterans Act would strengthen the Department’s ability to initiate critical projects to better meet the need of current and future veterans—including women veterans, veterans in need of long-term care services, and veterans with spinal cord injuries and diseases. Among its many provisions, the bill would require VA to implement a more concrete schedule to eliminate or repurpose unused and vacant buildings, develop and execute a plan to hire construction personnel, examine infrastructure budgeting strategies and identify required reforms, and provide annual budget requirements over a 10-year period. 

Veterans’ advocates threw their support behind the Congressman’s efforts to strengthen and modernize the delivery of VA infrastructure: 

“The VFW fully supports the BUILD for Veterans Act which would improve VA’s facilities around the country,” said Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) National Legislative Director Pat Murray. “VA infrastructure has been underprioritized for far too long and left without a plan for addressing many of the outdated buildings or the backlog of work. The BUILD for Veterans Act will require VA to develop and implement plans, to remedy this problem that has plagued VA for years. We are grateful for Congressman Deluzio’s efforts to deliver infrastructure solutions to VA and for bringing attention to this often-overlooked problem.” 

“With the growing number of veterans expected to enter the Department of Veterans Affairs’ health care system in the coming decades, it has become increasingly imperative that Congress take the lead in strengthening VA’s health care infrastructure, and Rep. Deluzio’s BUILD for Veterans Act is a critical first step toward achieving that goal,” said JoyIlem, National Legislative Director of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). This legislation would strengthen VA’s ability to construct, manage and maintain hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities across the country. DAV strongly supports the BUILD for Veterans Act and commends Rep. Deluzio for his continued leadership and commitment to the men and women who served, particularly those injured, made ill or disabled from their service.” 

“VA’s specialized health care services for veterans with catastrophic disabilities are crucial to meeting their lifelong unique health care needs,” said Paralyzed Veterans of America Associate Executive Director for Government Relations Heather Ansley. “The BUILD for Veterans Act represents a comprehensive approach to addressing problems with VA’s internal processes that have historically inhibited its ability to ensure the department’s infrastructure can meet the ever-increasing demand for not only acute health care services but also facility-based long-term care. We appreciate Rep. Deluzio introducing this important legislation in the House and urge its swift passage.” 

“A top priority of The American Legion is ensuring VA has state-of-the-art facilities to support veterans medical and mental healthcare needs,” said The American Legion National Commander Vincent J. Troiola. “Robustly investing in and revitalizing the aging VA infrastructure is critical to the VA healthcare systems overall success. We must ensure VA is properly resourced and structured to manage the infrastructure of the largest integrated healthcare network in the U.S. By improving VA capital asset programs and increasing congressional oversight, the BUILD for Veterans Act will assist in establishing a foundation for VA’s infrastructure modernization efforts. We greatly appreciate Congressmen Deluzio and Mrvan’s leadership on this issue.” 

“The BUILD for Veterans Act is a commonsense approach toward modernizing VA facilities that is not only a good deal for veterans but for the taxpaying Americans who want to see us get world-class care at the VA,” said Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America’s CEO Allison Jaslow. “The BUILD for Veterans Act provides badly needed reforms to enable the VA to modernize facilities and strengthen oversight and management of the agency’s capital asset program and project execution. We commend Representative Deluzio for his leadership on behalf of his fellow veterans, and for making VA’s infrastructure a priority.” 

Text of the BUILD for Veterans Act can be found here. 

A one-pager on the bill can be found here. 

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Original source can be found here.