USACE Would Take Over Major VA Construction Management
Late last week, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) and Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) introduced legislation that would remove the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Office of Construction & Facilities Management (CFM) from construction management of the agency’s major construction program as mentioned in the above article. The legislation would immediately remove CFM as construction manager over the VA Aurora Hospital project outside of Denver and replace it with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The bill would also replace CFM with USACE on existing and future VA projects after the agencies reach a mutual agreement on a transition.
While this legislation is a positive step forward in addressing the VA’s construction program, the legislation needs additional modification to help ensure a smooth transition for the VA’s major construction program to USACE. The bill does not sufficiently address: (1) how existing major VA construction projects—other than Aurora—would be handled; and (2) necessary reforms to VA planning and design processes for when it acts as a client of USACE, among other things. AGC will work with members of the House and Senate on this legislation to address its concerns, as any major alteration to the VA construction program should be comprehensive and fully vetted.
For more information, please contact Jimmy Christianson at (703) 837-5325 or christiansonj@agc.org. Return to Top