Senate approves deal to avert construction halt at Denver VA
The U.S. Senate has approved a last-minute deal to avoid a construction shutdown at a troubled veterans hospital outside Denver.
Senate approval came Friday. The House approved the agreement Thursday.
The measure now goes to President Barack Obama, who’s expected to sign it.
The deal raises the spending cap on the project by $100 million, enough to keep work going for three weeks.
The Veterans Affairs Department now must negotiate a long-term agreement with Congress to pay for finishing the hospital.
The facility is expected to cost $1.73 billion, nearly triple the estimate the VA gave last year.
The VA asked for up to $830 million to finish the hospital. Some in Congress are demanding that it be scaled back and that the VA fire those responsible for the problems.
