1-1 By: Hilderbran (Senate Sponsor - Wentworth) H.C.R. No. 102 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 23, 1999; 1-3 April 26, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on 1-4 Veteran Affairs and Military Installations; May 5, 1999, reported 1-5 favorably by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 5, 1999, sent 1-6 to printer.) 1-7 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-8 WHEREAS, The Kerrville Veterans Administration Medical 1-9 Center, which consistently ranks high among Texas-based veterans' 1-10 hospitals, is a "veteran-friendly" facility offering the very best 1-11 of medical care and an outstanding corps of affiliated physicians, 1-12 nurses, and support personnel; and 1-13 WHEREAS, It is a valuable regional resource and a comfort to 1-14 the many thousands of military retirees who have settled in the 1-15 Texas Hill Country both for the allure of those environs and the 1-16 close proximity in their older age to the expertise of highly 1-17 qualified health practitioners; and 1-18 WHEREAS, The Kerrville institution has a long and successful 1-19 history; begun in 1919, it opened its doors two years later after 1-20 fund-raising by the American Legion and appropriations from the 1-21 37th Legislature; the federal government bought the facility from 1-22 the state in 1926, eventually to incorporate it within the Veterans 1-23 Affairs Medical Center System; and 1-24 WHEREAS, Over the last 10 years, the U.S. Department of 1-25 Veterans Affairs has spent almost $20 million upgrading the center, 1-26 installing the most modern equipment and enhancing its ability to 1-27 treat and attend our veterans in a manner reciprocating their 1-28 service in behalf of this nation; and 1-29 WHEREAS, Absent a policy reversal, the center will be phased 1-30 out for extended hospital care by May 1999, and will keep intensive 1-31 care patients for only 24 hours before transferring them to another 1-32 Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in San Antonio or, if 1-33 that is full, to private hospitals in the Bexar County area; and 1-34 WHEREAS, Given the investment in and improvements to the 1-35 center in the past decade, these diminutions of service seem both a 1-36 waste of money and federal resources and a creation of geographic 1-37 inconvenience for veterans in Kerr County and surrounding 1-38 communities; and 1-39 WHEREAS, The continued vitality of the Kerrville Veterans 1-40 Administration Medical Center as a first-class hospital is an issue 1-41 of importance not only to the people of Kerrville and the Hill 1-42 Country region but also to Texas generally because of its strategic 1-43 role in meeting the health needs of the citizens of this state; 1-44 now, therefore, be it 1-45 RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas 1-46 hereby respectfully request the Congress of the United States to 1-47 ensure the future of the Kerrville Veterans Administration Medical 1-48 Center by providing that it be fully funded, staffed, and utilized, 1-49 and by restoring and promoting the health rights and benefits of 1-50 the Texas veterans who are its prospective patrons; and, be it 1-51 further 1-52 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 1-53 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 1-54 the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of 1-55 the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of 1-56 the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this 1-57 resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a 1-58 memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. 1-59 * * * * *