Area legislators push back against slow-downDate: 3/23/2021 WESTERN MASS. – The legislative delegation from Western Massachusetts is pushing back on criticism the commonwealth is moving too fast with legislation that would secure funding for the proposed new Holyoke Soldiers Home.
As Chris Lisinski, from the State House News Service, reported, “The Senate chair of the legislative panel reviewing a bond bill crucial to reconstructing the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home flagged concerns March 16 that the Baker administration did not give lawmakers more time to dig into the proposal. Gov. Charlie Baker and his cabinet are pushing for approval as soon as possible on a bill authorizing $400 million in bonds (H 64) to build a new Holyoke long-term care facility for veterans, warning that the state might not be able to access federal funding for up to 65 percent of the project without action by April 1.
“Sen. Marc Pacheco, chair of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight reviewing the bill, pressed administration officials at a Tuesday hearing on why Baker did not file the bill until mid-February if the timeline would be so crunched. ‘Putting a $400 million project together and coming to the Legislature with the timeline we need to deal with is extremely unusual,’ he said. ‘Why weren't we given more time for consideration of this enormous investment, which is deserved?’”
“Alda Rego, assistant secretary for administration and finance at the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, said the timing reflects the ‘extraordinary circumstances’ Massachusetts faced over the past year. Before Baker submitted the legislation, Rego said, the administration sought input from the Holyoke home’s board of trustees, who gave their stamp of approval in early February. ‘It’s great everybody had input, but the Legislature hasn't, and so now we’re dealing with what we have before us without having the appropriate time to provide legislative input,’ Pacheco said.”
The Baker Administration is hoping the bond bill will pass by April 1 to meet a deadline for federal reimbursement – which, if met, could mean the federal government would pay back the state for 65 percent of the $400 million budget for the new home.
The delegation wrote a letter on March 16 that read in part, “Not only is the passage of the bill critical for the future of Western Massachusetts, but the swift passage of the bill is imperative. This bill must be enacted by April 1 to ensure DCAMM [The Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance] has sufficient time to complete the design development process by the Veteran Administration Grant’s August 1 deadline. If we do not meet this deadline the commonwealth will lose out on the opportunity to rebuild the outdated Soldiers’ Home with 65 percent federal reimbursement. Frankly this bill cannot wait any longer.”
State Sen. John Velis, chair of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, testified on March 16 in favor of the bill.
“For too long the facility has been overlooked and left underfunded. After decades of inattention, the Home has surpassed the ability to be renovated and must be rebuilt,” said Velis, who represents the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home and is a veteran himself. “Those who serve put their lives on the line for the rest of us back home. They have taken care of us and now we must take care of them.”
He added, “Less than one half of one percent our country’s population serves today, and this future Home is going to serve generations that have been an all-volunteer force with multiple combat deployments. We are going to have more veterans returning with complex medical, social, and psychological challenges than ever before.”
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