Politics & Government
Waxman Calls on VA to Fill Empty Beds at Home in West L.A.
Since Veterans Affairs has not built a planned kitchen facility to meet the needs of the home's residents, most of the 396 beds in the home cannot be filled.
Rep. Henry A. Waxman continues mounting pressure on the Department of Veterans Affairs to update stagnant communication on several issues surrounding the Veterans Home and nearby grounds in West Los Angeles.
On Tuesday, Waxman sent a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki expressing his deep concern that more than half of the beds at the Veterans Home of West L.A. have remained empty since the home opened.
“As long as this problem goes unresolved, most of the beds in the home will continue to sit idle and needy veterans will go unserved,” said Rep. Waxman. “I request that you become personally involved to ensure that everything is being done as quickly as possible to remove the obstacles that are preventing the home from operating at full capacity.”
Click here to read the full text of Waxman's latest letter.
Waxman contacted Shineski in late May, asking for a follow through on the plan to construct a columbarium for the Los Angeles National Cemetery in Westwood.
Housing for homeless vets already a longstanding issue
The West L.A. VA is already under scrutiny by Waxman's office to convert Building 209 on the nearby Brentwood campus into housing for homeless veterans. The VA broke ground on the project in January.
However, it was revealed in February the housing projects still were not properly funded. In March, the dispute went into litigation and voices for disabled veterans gathered outside the VA in protest of the federal government not adhering to the deed of 1888.
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