June 28th, 2022 by WCBC Radio
A group of U.S. senators has agreed to effectively dismantle a commission tasked by the Department of Veterans Affairs to carry out closures, downsizing and other significant medical facility changes nationwide, Sen. Joe Manchin said Monday. The West Virginia Democrat, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said there is bipartisan support to avoid filling vacancies on the VA’s Assets and Infrastructure Review Commission and to end the commission in the next National Defense Authorization Act. The commission had recommended the closures or downsizing of several older facilities, a proposal that Manchin worried would significantly alter services provided to rural veterans across the country. But other groups had welcomed the commission's work, saying it was necessary to modernize and improve the VA's health offerings. Manchin said in a statement that without the Senate’s approval of the AIR Commission and its nominees, no commission will be established and the process as outlined by the 2018 VA Mission Act “will not move forward.” The act required Veterans Affairs to make recommendations for its medical facilities and health care delivery, either through facility expansions, relocations, closures or changes in services.
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