Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-09) strongly supported the passage of H.R. 5325, which funds the Department of Veterans Affairs’ planned community based outpatient clinic in French Camp, which was signed into law by President Obama on Thursday.

H.R. 5325, the Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act, provides $194,430,000 for the French Camp Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC).

“This is a victory for veterans in the Central Valley who have waited too long for the French Camp VA clinic to get off the ground. The VA now has the funding to finish the design, break ground, and get this facility built,” said Rep. McNerney. “I will continue to see this project through to completion so that our veterans have improved health care access in a safe and modern facility.”

The French Camp CBOC will serve 87,000 veterans across a wide geographic area that includes San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Calaveras, Tuolumne and Amador counties, among others. Congress approved the Central Valley community based outpatient clinic and community living center in 2004 as part of the VA’s Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services Initiative. In 2010, Congress appropriated $55 million for land acquisition and to fund construction planning.

The 150,000-square foot French Camp clinic will include mental health, primary care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, radiology, laboratory, pharmacy, audiology and speech pathology, dental, eye, prosthetics, and other specialty services on a telehealth basis such as podiatry, orthopedics, cardiology and rheumatology.

Earlier this year, McNerney sent a letter to House and Senate Appropriations Committee members urging them to include funding for the French Camp clinic in any budget legislation and to come to an agreement as soon as possible.