Fate Of Veterans' Clinics In Limbo As Budget Cutting Looms

A veterans' health clinic in Brick, N.J., is in such disrepair that when the snow gets heavy, patients have to go elsewhere for fear the roof might collapse. Another in San Antonio has extensive mildew and mold problems that could prove a health hazard for employees and patients in the coming years.

In Lake Charles, La., it's not the condition of a clinic but the lack of one. It's estimated that 6,000 veterans would enroll in VA health care if the community were to get a new clinic. The Department of Veterans Affairs has cited these examples as it sought approval from Congress last year for a dozen new or expanded health clinics around the country.