A bipartisan proposal to boost funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs includes the construction of a new outpatient care facility in Chattanooga.
The city already has a 40,000-square foot outpatient center, but the proposed deal would build a new 100,000-square foot clinic that supporters say would allow veterans in East Tennessee, northwest Georgia and northeastern Alabama a wider variety of treatments from more medical specialists, and would save them longer trips to better-equipped facilities in other cities.
The clinic's construction is not guaranteed. The total VA funding package would have to be approved by both houses of Congress and the White House. Congressional approval could come this week. Obama administration spokesman Josh Earnest said the White House supports the $17-billion proposal.