Two Western Pennsylvania congressmen said an ongoing project to consolidate veterans hospitals and expand services in Pittsburgh is expected to receive $130.7 million in federal funding over the next two years.

U.S. Reps. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, and Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, yesterday said the expansion plan, announced in 2004, will advance with the help of $40 million included in an appropriations bill signed into law last year for fiscal year 2008. That money is part of $300 million allocated for construction projects at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs facilities around the country, they said.

An additional $90.7 million for the Pittsburgh project is included in the budget request for 2009 submitted by President Bush to Congress this week. That proposal, which has not been enacted, also includes $6.7 million to upgrade intensive care unit beds in Pittsburgh.

As part of a national effort to modernize its health system, the VA plans to expand its facility in Oakland to accommodate psychiatric patients and to house research and administrative offices. The VA plan would close a facility on Highland Drive in Lincoln-Lemington, but would expand a long-term care facility in O'Hara, construct a parking garage in Oakland and create an outpatient clinic in Fayette County.

The proposed closing of the Highland Drive facility has been controversial with some veterans. But the VA maintains that consolidating services will save money and improve services without cutting patient beds.

The Pittsburgh project's initial cost estimate was about $189.2 million, the congressmen said, and funding was authorized in 2006. But the VA later shifted some of that funding to other projects, increasing the timetable and overall cost of the Pittsburgh project, they said.

Since then, Mr. Doyle and Mr. Altmire said, they have worked with U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter and VA officials in Pittsburgh to keep the project moving forward.

"This is fantastic news," Mr. Doyle said. "We've been working to keep this project on track for quite some time now, and it's gratifying that the VA has heard our concerns and responded in such a positive way."