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The Massachusetts legislature is being asked to act with uncharacteristic speed to authorize constructing a new Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke.
The Secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Veteran Services, Cheryl Poppe, testifying at a virtual legislative hearing Tuesday, said passage of a $400 million bond bill is the first step needed to build a replacement for the 70-year old long-term care facility for veterans in western Massachusetts.
It is Holyoke s time. It is Holyoke s turn, Poppe said.
The Baker administration filed the bill to finance construction of a new Holyoke Soldiers’ Home just last month. Administration officials said the legislature needs to pass it by April 1st in order to meet a series of deadlines set by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to obtain federal reimbursement for 65 percent of the project’s cost.