This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

WASHINGTON — Leaders in the House of Representatives beat the clock to pass legislation Thursday that would allow construction to continue on the severely over-budget VA hospital in Aurora.

The price tag for the facility has sky-rocketed to $1.73 billion. The VA needs an additional $830 million to finish the project. Work would shut down Sunday without action from Congress, according to a report in the Denver Post.

The Senate still has to approve the plan before week’s end in order to avoid the shut down.

The deal came as a result of last-minute negotiations.

The agreement allows the VA and the contractor building the hospital, Kiewit-Turner, to spend $20 million to keep work going for another three weeks. This stop-gap measure would give Congress and the administration time to come up with a long-term funding plan.

See full VA hospital coverage here.

Suggest a Correction