House Passes Allred’s Bipartisan Bill Authorizing Construction of VA Facilities, Includes Funding for Spinal Cord Injury Center in Dallas

DALLAS  –  The House this week overwhelmingly passed Congressman Colin Allred (D-TX-32) and Congressman Jake Ellzey’s (R-TX-06) bipartisan legislation, the Fiscal Year 2022 Veterans Affairs Major Medical Facility Authorization Act. The vote was 402-2. This bipartisan bill authorizes several Veterans Affairs construction projects funded in fiscal year 2022, including continued funding for the spinal cord injury center at the Dallas VA Medical Center and funding to build a new health care center in El Paso, Texas. 

Last week, Allred chaired a Veterans Affairs committee meeting on VA’s aging health infrastructure and how we can use innovative solutions, like those used to establish the Garland VA, to better serve our veterans.

“Our veterans deserve the best quality care possible but aging facilities are impeding the VA’s ability to deliver that care to those who have served, ” said Allred. “I’m so proud that my bipartisan legislation to invest in building and improving VA facilities across the country passed the House. This bill will help keep our promise to our veterans and I'd like to thank Congressman Ellzey for leading this legislation with me and all my colleagues from both sides of the aisle who voted to pass it. I look forward to this legislation becoming law.”

This additional funding will help complete the Dallas project, which is currently underway and will construct a 30-bed Long Term Care Spinal Cord Injury Center, with the capacity to expand to 60 beds. The project was hailed by a wounded Texas veteran as a “godsend” for himself and fellow veterans who suffered spinal cord injuries. In addition to providing long-term care for the medical complications of spinal cord injuries/disorders, the center will provide a residential setting in which highly dependent or medically complex veterans could live on a long-term basis, receiving the specialized environment, staff skills and equipment that they require.

The complete list of projects and the total amounts authorized in the bill are below:

• Spinal cord injury center in Dallas at $292,239,000
• New health care center in El Paso at $150,000,000
• Restoration and consolidation of the Gulfport Hospital in Biloxi, MS at $341,500,000
• Community living center and domiciliary and outpatient facilities in Canandaigua, NY at $443,900,000
• Seismic corrections to the mental health and community living center in Long Beach, CA at $387,300,000
• Spinal cord injury building with a community living center and parking garage in San Diego, CA at $262,100,000
• New research facility in San Francisco, CA at $254,880,000
• New critical care center in West Los Angeles, CA at $115,790,000
• Seismic retrofit and renovation of buildings in Portland, OR at $20,000,000
• Replacement bed tower and clinical building expansion in St. Louis, MO at $135,340,000
• New surgical intensive care unit and renovated operating rooms in Oklahoma City, OK at $47,564,000
• New medical facility in Louisville, KY at $953,000,000

 ###