A bipartisan group of lawmakers called on the attorney general at the U.S. Justice Department to investigate whether veterans affairs department executives lied to Congress to conceal massive cost overruns at the Aurora, Colo.-based veterans affairs outpatient clinic currently under construction, according to the Denver Post.
In a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, 12 Republican and nine Democratic members of the House VA Committee asked the justice department for an investigation into statements made by the VA department's former official in charge of construction projects, Glenn Haggstrom, and the current director of the VA's office of construction and facilities management, Stella Fiotes, according to the article.
The letter cites comments made by Mr. Haggstrom and Ms. Fiotes at a series of committee hearings in 2013 and 2014. According to the letter, both individuals said no cost overruns were expected and that the project would finish at or near its budget of $604 million.
The 184-bed Aurora facility is currently about 70 percent complete, with construction expected to be completed by January 2018. The facility is expected to cost nearly $1.7 billion.
The request for a perjury investigation came after the VA's inspector general released a report stating Mr. Haggstrom was aware of the facility's budget problems but did not inform Congress, according to the article.
The VA department conducted a separate internal investigation of the issue, but has refused to publicize its findings. The veterans affairs committee issued a subpoena demanding the department release its findings by Sept. 28, according to the article.