Congresswomen Simon and Pelosi, Senators Padilla and Schiff Demand VA Answers on Cancelled Alameda Point Veterans Clinic and Cemetery Project

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12), Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-11), and Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) wrote to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Douglas Collins pressing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for information on VA’s decision to unilaterally cancel the construction of a Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) and multiphase columbarium in Alameda, California. The project was years in the making and had already received over $395 million in Congressionally approved federal funding. The members demanded VA reconsider the decision to ensure that the 270,000 Veterans in the Bay Area receive the care and services they deserve. 

Over the last decade and across multiple administrations, the City of Alameda, then-Congresswoman Barbara Lee, VA, the Department of the Navy, and other stakeholders have worked on the Alameda Point project to remedy gaps in service and better fulfill the needs of the veteran population in the Bay Area.  

In the letter to Secretary Collins, the members write:  

“We are writing to express our serious concerns regarding the lack of transparency and dissemination of basic information on the Alameda Point VA health care facility and columbarium…. The Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs sent an opaque notification to staff on August 28, 2025. The communication said that VA no longer intends to construct and operate a Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) and multiphase columbarium in Alameda, California…

“Our offices, as well as the office of former Congresswoman and now Mayor of Oakland Barbara Lee, frequently field inquiries from Veterans and families of Veterans who feel inadequately served by current VA facilities in the Bay Area. Veterans must have a voice in their care, and the clear message is that Veterans want the VA.... we respectfully request that VA reconsider its decision to terminate the CBOC and columbarium projects.

Of the project cancellation and the letter, 

Congresswoman Simon said: “In my district alone, there are 28,000 veterans. Oakland is home to a former Army Base; Alameda is a current Coast Guard City and a former Navy city. The Bay Area has a strong, demonstrated demand for a new VA clinic and burial spaces.

“The cancellation of this project in my district is unacceptable. It’s unacceptable for Veterans demanding quality health care in the region; unacceptable for the families of veterans looking to provide a close, accessible, final resting place to honor their loved ones; and unacceptable for our nation’s longstanding promise to honor and care for those who devoted their lives to this nation”  

Senator Padilla said: “California veterans are already facing skyrocketing health care costs, and canceling the future VA clinic and columbarium at Alameda Point further betrays the Bay Area’s 270,000 veterans,” said Senator Padilla. “Hundreds of millions in funding and years of restoration work have already been dedicated to this critical project to ensure those who dedicated their lives to our country have their health and burial needs met. I call on the Trump Administration to immediately reverse this cancellation and explain their decision to turn their backs on American heroes.”

Of the cancellation, Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft and Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, who worked extensively on this project during her tenure in Congress, said: 

“This abrupt cancellation shows a profound disrespect for the 270,000 veterans in the Bay Area and their families. The City of Alameda has received zero communication from the current administration regarding the status of this crucial, long-planned clinic and cemetery,” stated Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft. “Veterans deserve world-class health care and a close, accessible final resting place. We stand with our Congressional delegation in demanding the VA answer for this decision and commit to restoring the vital Alameda Point project.”

"Throughout my time in Congress, I was a strong advocate for the Alameda Point VA clinic and columbarium, helping to secure funding including $26 million in 2020 to ensure our Bay Area veterans have accessible, quality healthcare close to home,” said Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee. “As the daughter of Lt. Col. Garvin Tutt, who served in the 92nd Infantry in World War II and the Korean War, I know firsthand the sacrifices our veterans and their families make. I stand with Congresswoman Simon, Speaker Emerita Pelosi, and Senators Padilla and Schiff in demanding answers from the Trump Administration and holding them accountable to the commitments made to our veterans. As Oakland's mayor, I remain committed to fighting for the thousands of veterans who call our city home.” 

You can read the letter text here and find more on the letter below. 

In the letter, the members also requested the following information: 

• How much has VA spent in total appropriated funds for the Alameda project to date? How much funding has VA not spent and if so, what is the status of that funding since this project was cancelled?
• How does VA plan to meet the needs of the Veterans in CA-12 based on the 2022 market assessment that clearly laid out the measurable and pressing need for access to VA health care to the region’s Veterans?
• What are VA’s plans for meeting burial needs in Northern California, given that there are currently not enough burial options for Veterans in the San Francisco Bay Area?
• Details regarding VA’s reasoning for the termination of the project including claims of the “inaccessible” nature of Alameda, cost of flood and foundational mitigation efforts and “various site-related requirements,” and how PFAS contamination and insufficient resources has impacted other VA legacy construction projects, including in San Francisco.
• The VA Notification’s statement that: “VA will work with GSA to excess or dispose of this Alameda site through the most advantageous method,” which ignores over a decade a promises, agreements, and understandings between Congress, the City, the Navy, and VA that led to the transfer of portions of the NAS Alameda from the Navy to VA. 

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