(Washington, DC) -  Congresswoman Corrine Brown made the following statement:
“When I was first elected to Congress, I requested to be a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee.  Today, as the second most senior Democrat on the Committee, I believe it is my duty to do everything I can to assist the brave men and women who have served on our armed forces.  I have been working hard to champion the rights of veterans, calling on my colleagues and those in the administration to provide for greater funding for veterans’ health care programs, greater assistance with the processing of their claims, fighting on behalf of homeless veterans, and working to ensure that our nation’s veterans receive the funding for college education and the training they need to survive and succeed after their military service ends.   And this year, we passed the largest Veterans budget in the history of our nation!

This year’s VA bill provides a $4.1 billion increase for VA medical care and research, which is nearly $2 billion over the administration’s request!  It makes important investments in mental health care, assistance for our homeless veterans, VA long-term care, and funding to construct and modernize VA facilities and provide needed maintenance.

The last of which, brings us back to today’s groundbreaking ceremony.  When I requested funding for this hospital, we received $220 million, almost twice the president’s request.  The Veterans Committee went on to increase the full funding authority to over $656 million!  Indeed, this new medical center, along with the Burnham Institute, will serve to create a “biotech cluster” here at Lake Nona, which will allow the area to become one in which doctors and researchers can work together to meet the needs of our brave and more than deserving, area veterans.  

Beyond a doubt, the new hospital is a win-win for everyone.  This is a great day for the Central Florida community, for Central Florida veterans, and for veterans from all over the nation who come to Central Florida to retire.”

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