AURORA | A bill that would allow the Army Corps of Engineers to permanently manage construction of the Aurora Veterans Affairs hospital and raise the hospital’s $800 million spending cap to $1.1 billion is scheduled to be heard by the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations March 19.
“I am furious that the VA’s incompetence has led us down this path,” said Aurora Congressman Mike Coffman, who proposed the bill in January.
The bill follows on the heels of members of Congress warning that construction of the Aurora hospital could stop again unless the department shows it is getting the project back on track.
The warning came in a letter Tuesday to VA Secretary Robert McDonald from leaders of the House and Senate Committees on Veterans’ Affairs. In it, they requested a detailed analysis of the project’s costs and updates on efforts to hold people accountable for cost overruns and delays. They said the work is scheduled to stop again on March 29 without additional funding.
VA Secretary Robert McDonald responded in a letter Thursday to the committees that the VA plans to take $43.3 million from three other construction projects to keep construction going until May.
He said in his letter that a final price tag on what the hospital will cost will be available “in the next couple weeks.”
Coffman said in statement that not knowing how much the hospital will cost to build is what’s holding up Congress acting.
Work on the 184-bed hospital being built in Aurora was halted in December because of a contract dispute with contractor Kiewit-Turner. Following the contractor walking off the job, a temporary agreement was made with the VA agreeing to pay $234 million, including $157 million it owed Kiewit-Turner and subcontractors. Part of that agreement included the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers managing the completion of the hospital.
Kiewit-Turner and the VA both said they have no plans to halt construction.
“Work is progressing during this interim phase and we are working collaboratively with the VA and USACE (United States Army Corps of Engineers) on setting a path forward for a final agreement,” said Kiewit-Turner spokesman Tom Janssen. “We are confident that Congress and the VA will address the necessary funding and authority issues.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Who BID this job? Is our government so poor at handling the affairs of monetary responsibility that this type of situation is in the news daily? WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? Hold them accountable and put them in prison.
Much of the cost overruns is due to numerous change orders. Alas, this project has turned into a design-build almost from the onset.