WASHINGTON — Very little has come easy to the VA hospital project in Aurora, and that pattern is threatening to repeat itself later this month when agency officials attempt to get $625 million more for the over-budget facility.
The added $625 million in federal dollars is crucial for the unfinished veterans hospital. If Congress doesn’t agree to a funding boost by the end of September, prime contractor Kiewit-Turner is at risk of suspending work at the site because of a lack of cash — further delaying a project that is expected to cost at least $1.67 billion.
For now, there is a general agreement between Congress and the administration on how to drum up money for the hospital. But an unrelated fight over abortion, government spending and Planned Parenthood could complicate the effort.
With the end of the federal fiscal year looming, Congress must pass a temporary budget in order to keep the entire government running past Sept. 30.
This must-pass legislation likely will be the vehicle in which allies of the VA hospital plan to attach the $625 million, an amount the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has said is the final amount needed to complete the hospital, planned to be open by the end of 2017.
“That’s something that has to be done,” said U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Arvada, of the temporary budget fix, also known as a continuing resolution, or CR. “I’m optimistic it (hospital funding) will be part of the package.”
The problem with that approach, however, is that the CR has become a proxy for a much larger battle. Some congressional Republicans, such as Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, want to use the CR as leverage to wage a fight against abortion and Planned Parenthood.
That effort got a boost this week when the conservative House Freedom Caucus — of which U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Windsor, is a member, according to the news site Roll Call — vowed to oppose any spending bill that doesn’t defund Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood receives about $500 million annually in government dollars.
Buck wants the money instead to go to community-based health care centers. “I refuse to fund an organization based only on who its political friends are,” he said in a statement.
With most Democrats expected to take the opposite position, there is growing concern on Capitol Hill that the stalemate could lead to a repeat of the 2013 shutdown, which shuttered the government for about two weeks.
If Congress fails to agree on the CR — in spite of general agreement on the VA plan — the Aurora site could shut down when the rest of the federal government closes on Oct. 1, adding costs and delays to the project.
“Aside from the unacceptable dysfunction concerning both the federal budget and getting the Aurora VA built, we now see extremists in the Republican party threatening women’s access to health care services like cancer screenings, well-women visits, and contraceptives,” U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver, said in a statement.
The latest drama calls to mind the funding fights that stalked the Aurora project just a few months ago.
After the VA revealed in March that the price tag had skyrocketed to as much as $1.73 billion, the Colorado delegation was forced to pull out all the stops to ensure that Congress allowed the VA to steer money to the hospital to avoid a suspension of work.
Twice this spring, lawmakers passed a stopgap spending bill for the facility — once at the eleventh hour.
But this round of nail-biting is largely out of the control of either the VA or the Colorado delegation.
And several lawmakers and administration officials said there isn’t much of a legislative Plan B if the temporary spending bill runs into trouble.
The CR is the “main vehicle to finish this thing,” Perl mutter said.
One factor that may relax supporters of the VA hospital, however, is that there’s little desire on the part of U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner to drive the government into a shutdown.
Megan Taylor, a Gardner spokeswoman, said the Colorado Republican didn’t want to commit to a yes or no vote before the CR language becomes final. That said, he “absolutely does not want a government shutdown,” Taylor said. He “feels very strongly that it’s Congress’ duty” to make sure federal agencies stay open.
“Ensuring that Colorado veterans receive the health care facility the VA promised is one of my top priorities,” Gardner said in a statement. “I remain in frequent communication with the VA, the chairmen of the Veterans Affairs and Appropriations committees, and the House to work to find a permanent solution that leads to the completion of the project.”
U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, also expressed concerns about a shutdown. In a statement, he said his “highest priority is funding the Aurora VA hospital.”
“As for a government shutdown, I’m absolutely against it,” he added. “Shutting down the government is not the answer.”
Mark K. Matthews: 202-662-8907, mmatthews@ denverpost.com or twitter.com/mkmatthews
