U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is mulling whether to shutter more than 1,100 facilities nationwide as the agency moves more of its health programs to the private sector.
Appearing Wednesday before the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies, Shulkin told lawmakers the VA had compiled a list of 1,165 vacant or underused buildings that could be closed, saving the federal government $25 million annually.
Shulkin didn’t specify which facilities would close. In San Diego, VA spokeswoman Cindy Butler said there were no local vacant or underutilized facilities for the approximately 232,910 veterans in San Diego — 83,000 of them enrolled for health care services.
“We are very busy and actually have plans to expand facilities over the next few years: new Spinal Cord Injury building, and new, larger clinics in South Bay (Chula Vista) and Mission Valley areas,” she wrote in an email to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
More:
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/military/sd-me-va-closures-20170503-story.html
