Blake Hall
When you botch something that costs $1.73 billion dollars, you’re bound to get your share of grief.
That grief came in generous helpings Thursday, as House lawmakers spooned out ridicule to the Department of Veterans Affairs after their pricey veterans hospital project in Colorado derailed spurring them to audaciously ask Congress Wednesday for an additional $930 million to keep the blueprint afloat.
This — naturally — angered many in Washington and even lead to members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee floating the possibility of a bill that would turn over the cursed Aurora project to the Army Corps of Engineers.
“You’re no longer going to get to decide whether you build hospitals or not,” Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., said. “That is where this is headed.”
“I can’t imagine this kind of money in the private sector,” Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, D-N.H. said. “I know what hospitals cost in New Hampshire — it’s not a billion dollars.”
According to Stars and Stripes, the original cost of the hospital was $328 million in 2004.