The Veterans Affairs Department has asked Congress to be more open to closing outdated facilities, possibly through a base closings commission-like process, saying that keeping them open is draining away money that could be better used for medical care and other services to veterans.
Secretary Robert McDonald said at a recent House hearing that numerous obstacles are in the way, citing as an example a state agency designating a disused gas station from the 1930s as an historic building, preventing the VA from building a facility for the homeless on the site.
He said that of the 5,565 VA medical facilities –hospitals, clinics, warehouses, and other assets that support medical operations – more than 900 are over 90 years old, and more than 1,300 are over 70 years old. Overall, 60 percent of VA facilities are more than 50 years old, he said.
VA currently has 336 buildings that are vacant or less than 50 percent occupied, forcing the agency to maintain over 10.5 million square feet of unneeded space at an estimated annual cost of $24 million. Many of those facilities were placed to meet levels of local demand that have since dropped, while there are shortages in areas of current high demand, he said.
He asked for enactment of the government-wide Civilian Property Realignment Act, which would enable federal agencies to pursue consolidation and disposals in a streamlined way, and authority for the VA to pursue enhanced use lease agreements for purposes beyond the currently authorized purpose of creating supportive housing.
