Mortgage Program Requires Review of SE Hospital Plan

Council members had various reactions to the issue and its potential ramifications.

"At the end of the day, it all comes down to legal interpretations," said council member Vincent B. Orange Sr. (D), who embraces the bed-count argument. "If Howard already has a certificate of need [for 482 beds], there's no reason for them to get two."

The Ward 5 representative and mayoral candidate also took a slap at colleagues who voted in 2001 to keep D.C. General open but are against its proposed successor. "A lot of these people are dancing to the tunes of the political winds," he said. "One day they say they're for the hospital; the next day, they're not. That's not real leadership."

Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7), perhaps the biggest booster on the council, said he was unaware of the FHA provision until Friday. Still, he said, the certificate-of-need process is run by the District: "Therefore, if the legislative body chooses to waive it, does it supersede the requirement? That is the question.

"I continue to believe there is a need for this hospital," said Gray, whose constituents would be some of its greatest beneficiaries. "These beds already are in existence. We are moving them from Georgia Avenue to Reservation 13."

Council member Sharon Ambrose (D-Ward 6), who represents the district where the National Capital Medical Center would be built, remains "absolutely opposed" to waiving the certificate of need. "I stand in the same place as I started," she said.

The chairman of the council's health committee, often highly skeptical of the project, was scathing in his comments. "The language of the law is unambiguous," said David A. Catania (I-At Large). "If you have a CON process, it must be followed. . . . Through some clear sleight of hand we can't pretend we don't."

Since the FHA program began in 1968, it has insured more than 300 hospital mortgages with value topping $10 billion. If approved, Howard's would be one of the largest ever. Since August 2003, Wooley said, only eight hospital mortgages of more than $100 million have received federal backing.