Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R) is urging the Veterans Affairs administration to prioritize Florida Infrastructure projects.
Senator Rubio directed a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough, calling on him “to prioritize funding in the VA’s fiscal year 2024 budget request for VA infrastructure projects in Florida and other areas of the country that are expected to see increases in veterans populations in the coming years” according to a press release from his office.
Rubio shared that the sunshine state “is home to more than 1.5 million veterans, who make up 12 percent of the state’s adult population.” Moreover, the state has seen an increase in population by 1.9 percent last year. With more veterans moving to Florida, Rubio expressed that VA healthcare being accessible to veterans will continue to be difficult in Florida.
Some benefits that would come from increased funding “include the construction of 20 new VA facilities, including a VA Medical Center (VAMC) in Jacksonville, the fastest growing VA market in Florida with a projected 7.2 percent increase in veterans enrolled in VA healthcare by FY2029.”
The Florida Republican also informed that “the VAMC in Miami, which is more than 50 years old, is due for replacement as the facility ‘does not meet the current VA design standards for modern health care.’” The additional help that the VAMC in Miami would need “include the construction of eight VA community Living Centers (CLC) as well as six new VA clinics across the state.”
Rubio has joined efforts to strengthen VA services, going back to President Donald Trump’s (R) time in office.
In the letter, Senator Rubio also urges the VA to “look to the future” regarding their actions, saying that their priority should be on meeting “the evolving needs of veterans,” which includes “additional CLCs to modernization of existing facilities” for them.
