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WHITE HOUSE OPPOSES SENATE PROVISION THAT
WOULD BAR DEVELOPMENT AT WEST L.A. VA
CAMPUS -- The VA has not officially determined
how it plans to use the Los Angeles site.
West L.A. VA facility
For more about the VA's plans for the West L.A.
property, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/ses
search.php?q=west+l.a.&op=ph
Story here...
http://public.cq.com/
docs/cqt/news110-000002577223.html
Story below:
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White House Opposes Senate Provision Affecting
VA Facility in Los Angeles
By Patrick Yoest, CQ Staff
The Bush administration signaled its support of a fiscal 2008 Military
Construction and Veterans’ Affairs spending measure expected to pass in
the Senate Wednesday, but stated opposition to a provision that would
bar development at a veterans’ hospital site in Los Angeles.
The Senate made little progress on the $109.2 billion Military
Construction-VA appropriations bill (HR 2642) Tuesday. But Majority
Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he hopes to complete work “in a very
expeditious manner,” and aides said a vote on final passage likely will
come Wednesday.
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Tuesday stopped
short of threatening to veto the bill, even though it would provide $4
billion more than the president requested. But the OMB stated strong
opposition to a provision pushed by Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that
would prohibit the commercial use of land at a 388-acre VA medical
center site in Los Angeles.
The provision circumvents the VA’s Capital Asset Realignment for
Enhanced Services process, which the department uses to determine where
and when to build VA facilities. Feinstein’s concerns came after the VA
leased some of the land for commercial use to private companies,
including the Fox Entertainment Group and Enterprise Rental Car, and her
provision would not allow similar developments to take place at the site
in the future.
The OMB statement estimated that the provision “would eliminate more
than $4 billion of revenue,” which it suggested “would be used to
improve facilities around the country for our nation’s veterans.”
The VA has not officially determined how it plans to use the Los Angeles
site. It issued a report in August outlining four possible plans for the
tract, citing a “need to maximize the reuse potential of surplus
buildings and land” as a main consideration for future planning. It
plans a Sept. 6 public hearing to discuss the proposed plans with Los
Angeles residents.
The Feinstein provision could spark debate Wednesday. A Senate
Republican aide said conservatives “are scrutinizing that earmark” but
would not say whether an amendment is in the works.
Feinstein’s spokesman, Scott Gerber, said the senator would “resist any
efforts to remove the language from the bill or make changes to it.”
The Senate bill, which would provide $64.7 billion in discretionary
spending, tracks closely with the version the House passed June 15. It
would provide substantial increases for the Veterans Affairs Department,
which would get $43 billion, or $3.6 billion more than Bush sought. The
House bill would provide $43.2 billion.
Military construction accounts would receive $21.6 billion in the Senate
bill, which is $391 million more than Bush requested and $3.6 billion
more than the amount appropriated for fiscal 2007.
Source: CQ Today
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Larry Scott --
