SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Union members who work at the Sioux Falls Veterans Affairs Hospital and veterans plan to protest the proposed closure of VA facilities nationwide, including in South Dakota.
The protest is at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Spellerberg Park Shelter near the VA Hospital. It coincides with VA Secretary Denis McDonough’s visit to Sioux Falls. Spellerberg Park is adjacent to the Sioux Falls VA Hospital.
The proposal would close VA hospitals in Fort Meade and Spearfish, close the emergency room in Sioux Falls, and close a clinic in Wagner. The VA says they would build a new VA hospital in Rapid City to server West River veterans.
Governor Kristi Noem, Sen. John Thune, Sen. Mike Rounds, and Rep. Dusty Johnson say they oppose the closures.
Below is a news release from the union about the protest.
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Sioux Falls, SD – Members of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1509 will unite on Wednesday, May 18, to protest the Veteran Affairs Department’s recommended closure of dozens of facilities nationwide, including a local veteran emergency room and the Wagner community-based outpatient clinic (CBOC).
Local VA union members and veterans will bring their demands directly to VA Secretary Denis McDonough, who is planning a same-day visit to the Spellerberg Park Shelter VA facility.
Under VA Secretary McDonough’s leadership, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently released a series of recommendations to the Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) Commission that, if enacted, would shutter large segments of the VA health care system, cause mass layoffs, deny veterans their preferred choice in health care providers, and force our nation’s heroes into a patchwork of for-profit, private care.
Wednesday’s action is the latest in a series of protests, as AFGE members in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, West Virginia and other states join the fight against facility closures. Sioux Falls workers and veterans are joining their fellow AFGE members in calling on President Biden and members of Congress to put veteran care first and reject any AIR Commission recommendations that call for VA facility closures.
EVENT DETAILS:
WHEN: Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at 9 a.m.
WHERE: Spellerberg Park Shelter, 2201-2299 W 22nd St, Sioux Falls, SD 57105
WHO: AFGE Local 1509 union members from the Sioux Falls VA, veterans, local community allies
Background on the AIR Commission
On March 14th, VA Secretary Denis McDonough issued recommendations destined for review by the Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) Commission, a board envisioned by the 2018 VA MISSION Act and tasked with assessing the VA’s recommendations. The AIR Commission nominees have yet to be confirmed by the Senate and no date has been set for a confirmation hearing.
The Secretary’s recommendations boil down to closing dozens of VA medical centers and clinics and drastically cutting outpatient and inpatient services at countless additional locations. If the AIR Commission accepts the recommendations, veterans needing surgery, intensive care, emergency care and inpatient mental health care in numerous locations will be forced to rely on private, for-profit hospitals that do not specialize in veteran care, where studies show veterans get worse care at a higher cost.
The AIR Commission process also severely limits the power of Senators and Representatives to prevent proposed closures and cuts to VA medical facilities in their own states and districts. Once the recommendations are submitted to Congress, they are handled as a joint resolution. Congress is given a limited window to disapprove of the resolution in its entirety, without the option to modify individual recommendations. If they fail to disapprove within the allotted window of time, the recommendations go into effect.
The AIR Commission is merely the latest in a long series of attempts to privatize the VA. Over one-third of all veterans’ medical visits have already been sent outside of the VA system, and more than one-fourth of VA healthcare dollars have been diverted to the private, for-profit sector as a result of the MISSION Act.
