Just before the Senate recess, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) told Congress: An additional $15 billionThis will be the largest budget shortfall in the agency’s history.
In previous documents submitted to Congress, the VA has never asked for such an amount above its regular request, but now the VA argues that if the emergency funds are not approved by September 20, veterans may not receive their benefits on time.
Is this VA budget disaster the result of gross mismanagement or incompetence, or both? Before Congress passes another massive emergency supplemental budget to save the VA, we need to get to the bottom of this failure. That is what I am Call out Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs Jon Tester (D-MT) called for a hearing to be scheduled immediately. No one wants veterans’ benefits to be delayed, but Congress needs to get to the bottom of this issue before further taxpayer money is wasted.
In July, the VA’s chief financial officer privately warned Congress that the department would face multiple significant budget shortfalls without immediate additional funding from Congress. (Related: Tuberville: As the world falls apart, Biden is infecting the military with woke politics)
First, the VA reported to Congress a budget shortfall of about $3 billion. Veterans Benefits Administration The VBA will run for the remainder of fiscal year 2024 (until September 30). In fiscal year 2025 (starting October 1), Veterans Health Administration The (VHA) is projecting a shortfall of approximately $12 billion, and the VBA is projecting an additional $22 billion shortfall, which combined would be the largest budget shortfall in VA history.
Additionally, the VA has notified Congress that veterans and their dependents will likely face delays in receiving their compensation payments unless an additional $3 billion is appropriated for the VA by September 20. As a result, the Senate is now rushing to pass an emergency budget bill to help keep the VA afloat.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana), chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. (Reuters/Joshua Roberts)
What the Senate is in no rush to do is understand why the VA is underfunded in the first place. No senator wants to delay benefits for veterans and their dependents. But we also have a duty to protect the American taxpayer, and the VA clearly owes us an explanation.
These requests for additional funds are evidence of gross mismanagement of billions of taxpayer dollars by the Biden-Harris VA. In the private sector, mismanagement of billions of dollars in funds would likely result in bankruptcy. Even more likely, jail time. Fortunately for the Biden-Harris Administration, this mismanagement of funds is unlikely to have any adverse consequences for the officials who allowed it to happen, unless Congress takes action.
VA’s number one priority is to ensure America’s veterans receive the best care possible. But they also have a responsibility to ensure taxpayer money is well stewarded. Rather than explain this astounding accounting error or simply admit responsibility, VA is using veterans as a political bargaining chip. This will hinder Congress’ ability to ensure VA never again meets its obligation to responsibly provide care and benefits to veterans. In the coming weeks, the Biden-Harris VA, Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Tester, and the media will try to blame Republicans for the fallout from this incompetence, and the massive funding needed to fix the problem. “If Republicans don’t pass this emergency funding now, veterans will suffer,” they will say. This couldn’t be more disingenuous.
This political tactic belies reality: the VA misled Congress about the true costs. PACT methodIn 2022, VA aggressively pursued this bill and assured Congress that VA would effectively budget for any increased costs that would result from implementing and enforcing the bill. That was two years ago. And since that time, VA has never indicated to Congress that it needed additional funding outside of its regular funding requests.
Why did the VA wait until the last minute to inform Congress of the shortfall? Why did the VA know about the potential budget problems months ago when Congress was drafting the spending bill, yet refuse to inform Congress? It seems to me that either they knew this could happen (and said nothing) or the VA is in desperate need of a much more competent financial person.
The American people need to know what is going on at the VA. Congress needs to hold oversight hearings to understand the events that led to this significant budget shortfall and ensure that this never happens again. This situation is a clear misuse of taxpayer money and should never be tolerated at the VA or any other agency.
That is why I and my Republican colleagues in the Senate: Question for Chairman Tester Schedule an oversight hearing in September to shed light on what happened at the VA before the $3 billion supplemental budget moves forward. I don’t need a commitment to a hearing. I want a VA oversight hearing on the calendar. We cannot allow this agency management crisis to be swept under the rug.
“Alabama is home to nearly 500,000 veterans, and we know how important it is for them to have prompt access to health care and benefits. To ensure that remains the case in Alabama and across the nation, we cannot allow the VA to remain at risk of financial collapse as a result of political maneuvering, especially in an election year.”
Veterans and taxpayers deserve answers. We hope that both the VA and Chairman Tester will consider the severity of these shortfalls and take the steps necessary to remedy them. While it may be effective for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to plug the holes with a multi-billion dollar Band-Aid, our veterans deserve better.
Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) was elected to the Senate in 2020. Prior to that, he spent 40 years in higher education coaching college football, including 11 years as head coach at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama.
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