WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) applauded an announcement from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) on proposed site locations for the new Southside outpatient clinic for veterans in Hampton Roads, a region hosting one of the fastest-growing veteran populations in the country. This facility is much needed in the Hampton Roads area, where enrollees are expected to increase by 44 percent over the next 20 years, and outpatient workload is expected to increase by more than 70 percent. Additionally, while the veteran population in Virginia is predicted to grow more than two percent over the next eight years, enrollees at the Hampton VA are expected to rise approximately 16 percent within the same timeframe.

“After years of advocacy and pressure, we’re finally gaining momentum on this much-needed facility that will serve thousands of Virginia veterans. For too long, excessive wait times and overburdened facilities in the region have prevented our veterans from receiving the quality health care they deserve. With today’s announcement, we’re one step closer to ensuring that the fastest growing veteran population will receive the top-notch care they have earned,” said Sen. Warner. “While I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made today, make no mistake that I’ll keep up the pressure to make sure the GSA and the VA stay on track to get this facility up and running.”

The news follows Sen. Warner’s four-year advocacy to get the new Hampton VA clinic up and running. The 215,000 square foot outpatient facility – meant to alleviate demand in the region – is the result of a successful bipartisan effort originally spearheaded by Sen. Warner in 2016to approve 28 overdue Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facility leases, including another outpatient clinic Fredericksburg, Virginia. Since then, Sen. Warner has been continuing his pressure to get these facilities up and running, including by pressuring the GSA and the VA to move these projects forward, personally calling and pushing the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director to sign off on these clinics’ lease prospectuses, and successfully urging the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) to bring up the prospectuses for approval.

During his time in the Senate, Sen. Warner has long fought to reduce wait times for veterans in Hampton Roads. In 2015, confronted with wait times that were three times the national average, Sen. Warner successfully urged the VA to send down a team of experts to try to address the problem. He also succeeded in getting the Northern Virginia Technology Council to issue a free report detailing how to reduce wait times.

Today’s GSA announcement also states that GSA is preparing an Environmental Assessment in compliance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. GSA is also opening up a public comment period regarding its proposed site locations until mid-November.  

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