© 2024 KGOU
News and Music for Oklahoma
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Veterans Care Reform Bill Will Allow Tulsa Facility To Stay Open

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

A veterans care bill passed by Congress last week includes more than $13 million in funding to overhaul a Tulsa-based Veterans Affairs clinic.

The funds would allow the Ernest Childers VA Outpatient Clinic the option to either pursue a lease for a new facility or build a new structure.

Before the funding was added to the veterans care reform bill, Oklahoma lawmakers said the clinic would have been forced to either spend money to bring the building up to code or close down by 2020.

Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe says if the Tulsa outpatient center had closed, area veterans would have been forced to travel to Muskogee or Oklahoma City to receive care.

President Barack Obama is expected to sign the funding bill this week.

  ____________________________________

KGOU is a community-supported news organization and relies on contributions from readers and listeners to fulfill its mission of public service to Oklahoma and beyond. Donate online, or by contacting our Membership department.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.
More News
Support nonprofit, public service journalism you trust. Give now.