From July 21, 2022 post
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard’s outpatient clinic is one 50 facilities nationwide targeted for restructuring by the Department of Defense as early as October of this year
Today, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, spoke out in opposition to the Department of Defense's proposal to no longer allow veterans and their families and limit the families of active-duty service members from seeking care at the outpatient clinic at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as early as this October.
In 2020, the Department of Defense published a list of military medical facilities targeted for restructuring and realignment. In response, Congressman Pappas authored and secured a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2021 that required the Department to provide Congress with a detailed explanation of its plans to carry out its recommendations. The recently published report recommended that the outpatient clinic at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard begin treating only active-duty military service members and stop treating veterans and their family members. According to the report, the outpatient clinic will retain the option to treat family members of active-duty servicemembers.
"This recommendation from the Department of Defense is deeply concerning to me, and I strongly oppose this proposal," said Congressman Chris Pappas. "New Hampshire veterans and their families rely on the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for their care, and it is unacceptable that bureaucrats in Washington would shut the door in their face when they are seeking care. I have visited this clinic and met with the patients who depend on this facility, and I will do all I can to ensure that active-duty military, their families, and veterans at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard get the care they need without any undue burden or hurdles put in their way."
On Thursday, July 20, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan amendment that Congressman Pappas helped introduce to a major appropriations bill that transfers the $5 million previously appropriated for the Department of Veterans' Affairs Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) Commission to the Healthcare for Homeless Veterans Program. This effectively eliminates all funding for the AIR Commission, further guaranteeing the Commission's proposal to close local VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in New Hampshire cannot move forward.
Issues: Veterans
Original source can be found here.
