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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 53

	WHEREAS, The Waco Veterans Affairs Hospital serves every 
county in Texas and is the only Veterans Affairs hospital in the 
state that provides psychiatric care as its principal function; 
and
	WHEREAS, The federal government has invested significantly 
in the Waco Veterans Affairs Hospital, spending $12.4 million to 
enhance a facility for acute psychiatric care and $11.3 million 
to renovate and modernize a psychiatric-geriatric building; and
	WHEREAS, State government also invested in the hospital by 
locating a Texas Veterans Commission regional office near the 
facility to provide integrated services to the large concentration
of veterans in the area; and
	WHEREAS, Operating 15 rehabilitation beds to serve blind 
veterans, the Waco Veterans Affairs Hospital is known as a 
national referral facility for blind rehabilitation; and
	WHEREAS, In the past year alone, the hospital treated 
1,800 psychiatric, posttraumatic stress disorder, and blind 
rehabilitation patients, plus another 17,000 outpatients for 
medical and psychiatric conditions, attesting to its importance 
to Texas veterans throughout the state; and
	WHEREAS, Enjoying strong community support, the Waco 
Veterans Affairs Hospital annually contributes an estimated 
$203 million to the local economy and directly and indirectly 
accounts for approximately 2,000 jobs throughout Central Texas; 
and
	WHEREAS, A Veterans Affairs proposal to close the Waco 
facility would interrupt the seamless delivery of services to 
many Texas veterans and do great harm to the local economy; now, 
therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 
78th Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby oppose any proposal 
to close the Waco Veterans Affairs Hospital and urge concerned 
Texans and veterans to attend related hearings to lend their 
support for the hospital and its retention.
                                                                         Averitt




________________________________ 
    President of the Senate
 
    I hereby certify that the 
above Resolution was adopted by 
the Senate on September 25, 2003.



________________________________ 
    Secretary of the Senate



________________________________ 
     Member, Texas Senate