"These funds are sorely needed to continue providing care at our veterans hospitals," Grassley said. On March 2, the Department of Veterans Affairs said it had decided to provide $9.8 million in supplemental funding for Network 14, of which most of Iowa is a part. "The hold-up remains unexplained, and it's not the way to do business," Grassley said. "Whether bureaucratic red tape or intentional stalling is to blame, these hospitals and veterans in Iowa can't afford such delays."
Grassley has been riding herd on the VA to release the additional resources through letters and phone calls. In addition to the $9.8 million, the VA converted $6.5 million from a Capital Fund for Network 14, to provide a total supplemental allotment of $16.3 million.
Since early last year, Grassley has urged the VA to direct a fair share of resources to the Network serving Iowa and use all possible options to meet the budgetary shortfalls facing VA facilities in Des Moines, Knoxville and Iowa City.
Last summer, Grassley directly appealed to the VA's regional director for supplemental funds. In January, Grassley urged VA Secretary Togo West to take action on the request.
"Altogether, minimal budget increases for the VA health system, reallocation of that money to Sunbelt states and an overall shift toward outpatient care that keeps people out of hospitals has put a terrible squeeze on VA hospitals in Iowa. The federal government needs to make sure that we can meet our obligation to provide the care that our veterans need and deserve," Grassley said.
Grassley announced last week that he will be introducing legislation to reform the system used to distribute federal dollars to the VA regions across the country. "In particular, the Midwest and Northeast need to be put on more stable financial footing so that they're not always dependent on supplemental funds," Grassley said. The Network serving Iowa is formally known as the Veterans Integrated Service Network 14, or VISN 14. It is headquartered in Omaha and contains most of Iowa and Nebraska and parts of other states.