The House recently approved a bill to increase oversight and management of large construction projects at the Department of Veterans Affairs after a new VA hospital outside Denver tripled original cost estimates, according to an article on the ABC News website.
The bill requires the VA to allow the Army Corps of Engineers or other federal agencies to manage projects that cost more than $100 million. Money could not be spent on advance planning or design until 60 days after Congress is notified.
The measure was in response to a multiyear debacle in Aurora, Colo., where a hospital under construction is now projected to cost $1.7 billion.
Investigators blame overruns on multiple design changes and the use of a complicated contract process VA officials didn't fully understand.
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