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November 18, 2021
Dear Friend,
Here in North Texas, our veteran population is rapidly growing, and as a member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, I am doing all that I can to make life better for our local veterans. This week I took action to expand health care services at the Garland VA, which would reduce wait times for veterans, and will extend access to emergency care to non-veteran residents of Garland, as there is currently no immediate access to an emergency room in the city.
I led a group of my North Texas colleagues in urging the Department of Veterans Affairs to take the necessary steps that will allow the Garland VA medical center to expand health services and potentially partner with Dallas County for emergency room services for non-veterans. An expansion of the Garland VA Medical Center would create jobs and better serve the millions of people who call North Texas home.
Two years ago, I led the effort to turn the shuttered Baylor Scott and White hospital in Garland into a veterans medical center. It opened at a critical time during the pandemic last April and has been treating veterans with COVID-19 and providing other health services. Countless veterans have told me that being able to access VA care closer to home has been life changing. Instead of driving all the way down to the Dallas VA they can access the health care services they need closer to home. This week’s bipartisan effort builds on that success.
Access to quality health care is critical, especially when it comes to serving those who served our country. I will continue to work with the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand health services at the Garland VA and to continue to work with both parties on projects that help North Texas veterans.
Sincerely,
Colin Allred
Member of Congress
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