[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7046 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7046

   To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to construct a new 
     community-based outpatient clinic at Ord Military Community, 
                              California.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 24, 2008

   Mr. Farr introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to construct a new 
     community-based outpatient clinic at Ord Military Community, 
                              California.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. AUTHORITY FOR CONSTRUCTION OF NEW COMMUNITY-BASED OUTPATIENT 
              CLINIC AT ORD MILITARY COMMUNITY, CALIFORNIA.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Veterans in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, 
        California, must travel in excess of 60 miles to obtain full-
        service health care from Department of Veterans Affairs medical 
        facilities in Palo Alto, California
            (2) The Monterey Bay, California, area is medically 
        underserved by family health care providers.
            (3) The former Fort Ord, in Monterey, California, was the 
        largest military base closed in the Base Realignment and 
        Closure process.
            (4) A Department of Veterans Affairs clinic was established 
        at the former Fort Ord as a result of the closure of the base.
            (5) The Department of Veterans Affairs clinic is currently 
        unable to meet the health care needs of the 50,479 veterans who 
        reside on the central coast of California.
            (6) There are 31,000 members of the Armed Forces serving on 
        active duty and their dependents who are underserved by both 
        the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic and the Department of 
        Defense clinic located at the Defense Language Institute 
        Foreign Language Center.
            (7) A new joint clinic of the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs and the Department of Defense is likely to be more cost 
        efficient and better serve the medical needs of both the 
        veterans population and the population of members of the Armed 
        Forces serving on active duty and their dependents.
            (8) The Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of Veterans 
        Affairs entered into a memorandum of understanding in support 
        of a joint clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the 
        Department of Defense.
            (9) Veterans returning from service in Operation Enduring 
        Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom are likely to strain the 
        capacity of the existing clinic resources of the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense.
    (b) Authority.--Upon the completion of a feasibility study funded 
by the Department of Veterans Affairs on the construction of a new 
community-based outpatient clinic at the Ord Military Community, 
California, and subject to the availability of appropriations for such 
purpose, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall construct a new 
community-based outpatient clinic at the Ord Military Community, 
California, in accordance with the findings and recommendations of such 
study.
                                 <all>