Congress approved a funding plan to complete work on the over-budget Aurora, Colo., VA hospital complex. The VA will be allowed to shift money within its own budget to come up with the $625 million needed, according to an article on the Colorado Public Radio website.
The cost of the project ballooned to $1.7 billion -- three times earlier estimates for the complex.
“It’s huge because it doesn’t do the piecemeal funding that we’ve done in the past. It does the whole thing," said Republican Rep. Mike Coffman, whose district includes Aurora.
The funding bill dictates that VA be stripped of management of projects costing more than $100 million. That effectively bars VA from building future hospital projects.
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