DENVER (AP) — The VA is sending its second-in-command to Colorado as it asks Congress to pour more money into the overdue, over-budget veterans hospital in Denver.
Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson is scheduled to visit the construction site Thursday in suburban Aurora.
The latest cost estimate is $1.73 billion. Republican congressman Mike Coffman says that as recently as last year, VA officials were saying it would cost $630 million.
The 184-bed medical center will replace an old, crowded facility in Denver.
Coffman and others want to cancel the VA’s multimillion-dollar employee bonus budget and put the money into the hospital. The agency planned to award $360 million in bonuses this year.
The VA says its top construction executive resigned last week amid an investigation into what went wrong.
