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Appeals court allows VA to delay new housing at West LA campus
The inside of a bedroom at new housing for unhoused veterans at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus, during a tour on Tuesday, May 2, 2023.
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Nick Gerda / LAist
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Topline:
A federal appeals court has granted a stay allowing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to halt work on new temporary housing at the sprawling VA campus in West L.A.
The backstory: The stay granted earlier this week by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals comes after Judge David O. Carter ordered the VA to quickly make progress toward creating 750 units of new temporary housing. He wanted to see tiny homes opening before the cold winter months. VA officials argued Carter overstepped his authority. They said VA funds are tied up in other programs aiding veterans. They succeeded at getting a temporary stay earlier this month.
What it means for unhoused veterans: Mark Rosenbaum, a Public Counsel attorney representing the disabled veterans who brought this case against the VA, said the department’s $407 billion annual budget could easily pay for the housing ordered by Carter.
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“What this all means is that the Biden administration has made a decision that 3,000 unhoused, disabled veterans who served the nation in Iraq and Afghanistan are going to spend the winter holidays on the meanest streets of Los Angeles as opposed to being in housing and getting access to medical care,” he said.
What’s next: VA officials did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.
With the stay now granted, work on any new housing will be put on ice until April. That’s when both parties are scheduled to appear before the Ninth Circuit for a hearing on the appeal.
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