[StBernard] Vets committee to hold field hearing in New Orleans on future of South Louisiana VA health care

[Westley Annis]

Vets committee to hold field hearing in New Orleans on future of South Louisiana VA health care

WASHINGTON - On the day after U.S. HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson released limited funding along with a list of concerns about Louisiana’s plan for a new charity hospital in collaboration with the federal Veterans Affairs department, U.S. Rep. Richard Baker, R-Baton Rouge, a member of the House Veterans Affairs committee, was notified that committee leaders have accepted his request to hold a field hearing in New Orleans.

The hearing, on “The Future of VA Health Care in South Louisiana,” will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, July 9th, at the 4th Floor Courtroom of the Supreme Court Building, 400 Royal Street in New Orleans. The hearing is open to the public, and Baker encourages area Veterans and anyone interested to attend.

“Secretary Jackson's letter to Governor Blanco underscores what I have feared for our veterans: along with what’s sure to be a complicated and unnecessarily long land acquisition process, even the debate on the size, scope, and cost of Big Charity is unresolved, meaning that if the VA decides to wait for the Feds and the State to come to consensus on the future of Charity, our veterans will be asked to endure even further delays,” said Baker. “Our veterans have sacrificed so much already. How can we, in good conscience, hold their health care hostage over controversies that seem to have nothing at all to do with actually getting Veterans the care they need? This situation is both unfair and unacceptable, and I look forward to discussing a way forward with Secretary Jackson and other officials at this important hearing.”

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