Proposed VA Hospital at Travis Air Base

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the proposed construction of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, focusing on: (1) reasons that the project cost estimate was higher than VA originally proposed to Congress; and (2) where veterans living in the Travis facility target area currently receive medical care. GAO noted that: (1) the project cost estimate increased because VA believed it needed to construct and renovate more space than originally anticipated; (2) many veterans in the Travis target area currently receive hospital care at VA medical centers in the northern California and Nevada areas; and (3) although veterans' use of VA medical centers decreased in fiscal years 1992 and 1993, the reason for the decrease was unclear.