Dear Friend,

In August, I traveled to Fredericksburg to hold a veteran’s roundtable to hear the concerns and suggestions of Virginia veterans and ensure that all veterans get the benefits, health care, and respect they deserve.

Some of the concerns these veterans raised in the Fredericksburg area were excessive wait times for getting an appointment, insufficient capacity at the existing Fredericksburg clinic and at the McGuire-VA, and long drive times to reach the next closest Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital or clinic. That is why, since 2016, I’ve been pushing Congress and two different presidential administrations to get a new VA outpatient facility opened up in Fredericksburg after years of unacceptable delays. 

Today, I am writing to finally share some good news about that effort. The VA recently announced that a new 426,722-square-foot outpatient clinic will be built and opened in Spotsylvania County in 2023 – making it easier for local vets to get the care they’ve earned, and bringing new jobs and opportunities to the region. Despite what has been an exceedingly slow pace at times, we are now one step closer to better serving veterans in the Fredericksburg area and breaking ground on what will eventually be the largest VA outpatient facility in the country.

Taking care of our veterans goes beyond partisan politics: it is simply a matter of doing right by our nation’s veterans. I will continue working to ensure we do all we can to guarantee our veterans have access to the care and benefits they have earned.

If you want to share your thoughts about an issue that’s important to you, you can send me an email any time using the form on my Senate website. You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,