First it was the bridge.. now it is the new Veterans Hospital. I hate to say I told you so.. but I DID. Yarmuth has tried to torpedo EVERY SINGLE project that has provided Louisville with a better environment. He was against Papa John's Stadium, He is against the bridge, he is against the downtown arena, and now against the New VA Hospital. Anne Northup may have voted with the Republicans 94% of the time, but at least she got the community what it needed and Yarmuth is NOT doing that. I will admit that his stand on Iraq has surprised me, but beyond that he is a failure as a Congressman.
From the Courier Journal Today.
U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth said today he’s “not sure if there’s enough land downtown” for a new veterans hospital that may need 35 acres — casting doubt for the first time on the controversial location officials have been talking about for months.
“A lot of people want it to be downtown. It makes sense to put it downtown,” Yarmuth said. “We don’t know where there’s enough land.”
He spoke during a news conference in which he praised the VA hospital after taking a tour in the wake of revelations about poor conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
He called the Louisville VA hospital “top-flight,” with “state-of-the-art equipment and state-of-the-art care.”
Veterans Affairs officials announced last summer that the aging complex off Zorn Avenue will be replaced, becoming one of the nation’s first new veterans hospitals in more than a decade.
At the time, federal officials and Yarmuth’s predecessor, Anne Northup, said they expect it to be downtown, making it convenient to other hospitals and the University of Louisville School of Medicine, which has a working relationship with the VA hospital.
City officials would like to see the hospital downtown for much the same reason, said Chad Carlton, communications director for Mayor Jerry Abramson.
Abramson and Yarmuth have discussed the VA’s stated need for 35 acres for a new complex, he said, and city leaders hope to find out why the VA needs so much land.
Several veterans have objected to putting the hospital downtown, citing parking and other concerns.
