"This is extremely good news," said Canandaigua Mayor Ellen Polimeni today.

An official at Veterans Affairs in Washington couldn't confirm the visit, saying the agency doesn't comment on private conversations Principi has with members of Congress.

"At this time, he's not planning to come to Canandaigua," said Karen Fedele, a spokeswoman for the VA, who checked with a Principi official. "I don't know if that means he's going to schedule something in the future."

Officials at the veterans hospital here hadn't received confirmation about Principi's visit and declined comment.

"I'd rather not say anything until we know for sure he's coming," said Spokesman Dan Ryan.

A federal funding realignment proposal is calling for the closure of the 275-bed Canandaigua hospital and the elimination or relocation of most of its 725 jobs. Two hundred inpatients would also have to be moved under the plan.

Schumer said he spoke with Principi, and the secretary agreed to visit Canandaigua sometime between Oct. 4 and Dec. 30. The commission reviewing the proposal to close or increase funding to several veterans hospitals nationwide will submit its findings to Principi by Oct. 4.

Schumer, D-N.Y., also said Principi agreed to consider allowing veterans to speak at the Sept. 19 public hearing in Syracuse before the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Service (CARES) commission reviewing the proposal. Although the meeting is open to the public, speaking is being restricted to a handful of people."I explained to the secretary that this would be more than just closing a hospital," said Schumer. "It would be turning its back on the veterans who need medical care, turning its back on the hundreds in Ontario County who would be left unemployed as a result, and turning its back on everyone in the region who feels connected to the facility."

U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., is also keeping up the fight. When the Senate considers the VA appropriations bill, she plans to introduce an amendment that would halt the CARES process until further review. Clinton also plans to speak at the CARES public hearing in Syracuse.

"The CARES process is fundamentally flawed," she said. "The commission should be forced to go back to the drawing board and evaluate the important health-care issues facing our veterans — issues that the commission has clearly neglected thus far.

"I intend to fight this on the Senate floor and before the CARES commission to ensure that New York's veterans hospitals stay open to their fullest capacity," Clinton said.