WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Jim Cooper (TN-05) announced he secured funding for a new VA outpatient clinic in Nashville. President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget proposed a new state-of-the-art outpatient clinic to replace and expand care and services currently offered at the VA clinic located at Charlotte Avenue. Congressional funding and approval is needed for the clinic, which Cooper successfully included in the Build Back Better legislation.
Previously, antiquated GSA guidelines excluded locating the clinic anywhere north of I-40, excluding the North Nashville neighborhoods. For the past several months, Cooper worked with VA Secretary McDonough, in addition to White House, Office of Management and Budget, and General Services Administration staff, to expand the delineated area for the new VA clinic up to the Cumberland River. This ensures the North Nashville community—home to prominent universities such as Fisk, Tennessee State, and Meharry Medical—are able to compete for this major medical development project.
The package also includes funding for health coverage to people in states, like Tennessee, that refuse to cover their own. Cooper has been a champion of Medicaid expansion since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and closing the Medicaid coverage gap in the Build Back Better package was one of his top priorities.
“I am thrilled years-long efforts like getting more Tennesseans health insurance and bringing more equitable business opportunities to North Nashville were in this bill,” Rep. Jim Cooper said. “This is one of the most transformative pieces of legislation that will bring more opportunities to every American and help grow our economy.”
 announced he secured funding for a new VA outpatient clinic in Nashville. President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget proposed a new state-of-the-art outpatient clinic to replace and expand care and services currently offered at the VA clinic located at Charlotte Avenue. Congressional funding and approval is needed for the clinic, which Cooper successfully included in the Build Back Better legislation.){kind=link}