Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 3376 - FY 1997 VA Medical Construction Authorization

(House)
(Stump (R) AZ and 14 cosponsors)

The Administration does not object to House passage of H.R. 3376 and will work in the Senate to:

• Include appropriations authorizations for a hospital in Brevard County, Florida, and a new ambulatory care addition in Honolulu, Hawaii. These facilities are needed to serve veterans in those areas.
  
  
• Address the Administration's concerns about the additional, unrequested authorization of appropriations included in the bill. H.R. 3376 currently authorizes $312.1 million in unrequested projects.
  
  
• Allow VA to continue authorized projects using funds appropriated for fiscal year 1997 and subsequent fiscal years.
  
  
• Increase further the threshold amount for determining what constitutes a major new construction project. The Administration is pleased that H.R. 3376 would raise the construction project threshold from $3 million to $5 million, but believes that a $10 million threshold would more accurately represent a major construction project.
  
  
• Eliminate the imposition of notification and waiting period requirements for certain obligations made out of VA's Advance Planning Funds. Such requirements would result in ah unnecessary delay in the construction project planning process.