Housing Projects for Homeless Vets Still Not Funded

Federal lawmakers this week continued to press for funds to build more housing at the Veterans Affair's West Los Angeles Medical Center in Brentwood.

Senator Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) are asking the Obama Administration to budget in the 2014 fiscal year for renovations of two vacant buildings, Buildings 205 and 208, at the sprawling campus just west of the 405 freeway.

In a letter to the Office of Management and Budget, the lawmakers cite figures from the 2011 countywide homeless count, which found 1 in 10 homeless veterans were in Los Angeles.

"The situation in Los Angeles demands immediate attention," Feinstein and Waxman wrote.

In 2007, the VA committed to renovating the buildings and one other, Building 209, to house homeless veterans in need of housing and support services.

But Building 209 is the only one to so far receive funding. Ground broke at the end of January on that $20-million project. 

"We are disappointed that the Administration has neither requested authorization nor funding for these critical projects," Feinstein and Waxman's letter states.

A VA spokeswoman did not return a message seeking comment.

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued the VA on allegations veterans currently have limited access to, or are prohibited from accessing about one-third of the sprawling West L.A. campus. The lawsuit seeks to prevent the federal government from renting some of its space to private companies that do not provide health care-related services.

An investigation by National Public Radio in September of last year found the medical center has made at least $28 million on the private leases.