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Appeals court pauses plans for rapid housing construction on VA campus in West Los Angeles
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Appeals court pauses plans for rapid housing construction on VA campus in West Los Angeles

Top line:

A federal appeals court has put the brakes on plans to quickly build new housing on the VA campus in West Los Angeles

The context: Last week, Judge David O. Carter told VA officials that he hold them in contempt if they failed to speed up contracts for 750 new temporary homes. This order stems from a case brought by veterans who claimed the VA had been default to use the sprawling West LA campus for its original purpose: housing disabled veterans.

The last one: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday granted the VA’s temporary stay request, suspending for the time being Carter’s order to expedite the creation of new housing and granting VA officials relief from possible detention for contempt of court. Attorneys for the federal government argued that the VA’s $407 billion annual budget was already being spent on competing needs.

The answer: Amanda Mangaser Savage, a Public Counsel Lawyer representing veterans who sued the VA, said his clients felt the timing of the stay — just before Veterans Day — added insult to injury.

“While (VA officials) pay lip service to what all these veterans have done for our country, let it be known that they are actively fighting to place temporary housing based on the current needs of veterans,” he said. she declared.

What’s next: The parties are expected to appear before Carter at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.