U.S. Rep. Nancy Hayworth objects to sale of veterans' hospitals

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Nan Hayworth, M.D. (NY-19) has introduced H.R. 2642, the Hudson Valley VA Health Care Campus Protection Act. The bill will protect the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Campus (Montrose) and Castle Point Campus of the VA Hudson Valley Health Care System, both located in the 19 Congressional District of New York, from the sale, lease, or disposal of any VA property. The current Enhanced-Use Lease (EUL) process for the Montrose Campus is strongly opposed by the veterans in the Hudson Valley. “Our veterans were given a promise completing their service, and an important part of that promise is fulfilled through the care they receive within the VA system,” Hayworth noted. “Our veterans view the Montrose and Castle Point campuses as valuable assets that honor the sacrifices they made for our country. The EUL process did not take into account the burdens of the Global War on Terror, Iraq, and Afghanistan, that created so many new veterans to whom we must honor our commitments. We are serving their needs, and those of our older veterans as well, by preventing the lease of these facilities.” Hayworth continued, “The Montrose facility is nationally recognized for their Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) programs. We have an increasing number of veterans who require the best care we can provide closest to home. The bill I am introducing will support our veterans by terminating the EUL process that has been under review of the Montrose and ensuring continued protection of the Castle Point VA facility.” Under the VA’s EUL, the present Montrose Campus would consolidate operations to new facilities located on approximately 12 acres and would lease 172 acres of the total 184 on the campus, as well as lease over 780,000 square feet of building space, for private development.