Hospital Funds Budgeted
By Joseph Gerth
Congress has taken the initial step toward allocating $45 million for a new Veterans Affairs hospital in Louisville -- the first money appropriated for the project.
U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-3rd District, announced yesterday that the House subcommittee on military construction and veterans affairs had included the money in its budget for the 2009 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
"It provides some really initial seed money to do site selection and acquisition and planning," Yarmuth said.
He said the initial plan called for providing the first funding for the hospital in the 2010 fiscal year. But starting it a year earlier ensures that the hospital remains a priority for the VA.
"What it does do is make sure that there is no way the project gets pushed down the list," he said.
Announcement of the funding, which was not included in President Bush's proposed budget, comes during an election year in which Republican Anne Northup has criticized Yarmuth for not bringing enough money back to the district for projects, including the hospital, which was announced two years ago.
"I'm really thrilled that this is moving forward," said Northup, who pushed for the hospital before she was ousted from the 3rd District seat by Yarmuth in 2006.
"For five years I worked hard on a new VA Hospital for our veterans. ... I hope I will have a chance to work on this again in the future to make sure it is the center of excellence that was envisioned," she said in a statement.
Yarmuth said he didn't push for the funding to help himself politically but added, "Clearly, it undermines her argument that she would be a more effective representative in terms of being able to advance projects."
The money must now be approved by the House Appropriations Committee, the full House and then the Senate.
Yarmuth said House Appropriations Chairman David Obey of Wisconsin "has been very supportive of what I've been trying to do and I'm very confident it will get it through the committee and the House."
Billy Piper, chief of staff for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the announcement was "good news, but it is the first step in a long process."
Stuart Perelmuter, Yarmuth's spokesman, said he expects the House to approve the expenditure by early fall.
The $45 million would be used to purchase land for the hospital and to begin preparing to build the facility that would replace the 57-year-old VA Hospital on Zorn Avenue.
The new hospital is expected to cost $700 million. Some officials want a downtown acute-care facility that can work closely with the other hospitals there, and a primary-care campus in the suburbs.
Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson said at a press conference that the community has "jumped a huge hurdle and made a tremendous step forward" on the hospital project.
"We have been working so long and all of a sudden, out of the blue, Congressman Yarmuth was able to get a commitment," he said.
The new hospital is scheduled to open in 2013.
6/20/08
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