ASCE ESTIMATES
n/a
Current Grade
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Trend
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Funding needed to raise to a "B" Grade
PROPOSED ANNUAL INCREASE
14
VA Hospitals and Federal Buildings
ANNUAL VA HOSPITALS & FEDERAL BUILDING FUNDING
President Biden proposes investing $2.8 billion per year in new funding to modernize and upgrade federal buildings in poor repair. Of the total, $1.8 billion would be invested in making Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics state-of-the art. The other $1 billion would go toward modernizing other federal buildings, including making them more sustainable and resilient.
The Common Sense Coalition and the Problem Solvers Caucus each join Senate Republicans in not proposing new funding for VA hospitals and federal buildings.
The Case for a Big Investment
The President argues that those who have been willing to put their lives on the line for this country through their military service “deserve state-of-the-art hospitals and care.” He also suggests that millions of federal employees work in outdated and sometimes unsafe buildings. We can create more American jobs, the White House argues, by addressing these needs.
The Case Against
Not infrastructure.
The Evidence
The American Jobs Plan reports that the median age of private sector hospitals in the U.S. is 11 years, while the median age for Veteran Affairs hospitals and clinics is 58 years. The American Jobs Plan and a Veterans Affairs blog post on the topic do not provide the source for that information.