Memorandum of Disapproval of Bill for the Establishment of a Veterans Administration Facility at Fort Logan, Colorado

I HAVE withheld approval of S. 2584, "To provide for the establishment of a Veterans' Administration facility at Fort Logan, Colorado."

I have taken this action because I believe that the establishment of additional Veterans' Administration domiciliary facilities would not be warranted at this time.

The wartime-constructed Army hospital at Fort Logan was acquired by the Veterans' Administration in 1946 for temporary use pending the construction of a new hospital in Denver. In September 1951, the Denver hospital was completed and the Fort Logan hospital was vacated by the Veterans' Administration. At that time careful consideration was given to various proposals for the use of this facility including its use as a Veterans' Administration domiciliary home. I felt then, and I still feel, that it would be undesirable to increase the size of the Veterans' Administration domiciliary program at this time.

The service-connected medical needs of veterans in the Colorado area are now being adequately met by the new Denver hospital opened in September 1951 and by other facilities in that area.

After the last war, the Veterans' Administration obtained from the Army and Navy a considerable number of wartime-constructed hospitals for temporary use while its permanent hospital construction program was underway. As this construction program approaches completion, more and more of these temporary hospitals are no longer required by the Veterans' Administration. Naturally there are efforts, as in this case, to continue Veterans' Administration operation of these temporary facilities. Approval of these efforts by either administrative or legislative action would be unwise and costly. If facilities such as Fort Logan can be utilized economically for high priority Federal projects or programs, they should be so used. However, there is no reasonable justification for operating a facility just because it is owned by the Federal Government. Such action would not be consistent with the cutbacks in badly needed, high priority programs which the Congress has insisted be accomplished.

For these reasons, I have withheld my approval of S. 2584.

HARRY S. TRUMAN