House Republicans Slam McDonough: Who is Counting the Money at VA

House Republicans Slam McDonough: Who is Counting the Money at VA?

Today, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.), released the most recent letter he and House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Chairman John Carter (R-Texas), sent to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough in response to a briefing document provided by VA which revealed that no benefits budget shortfall ever existed in fiscal year (FY) 2024, and much of the information VA has provided to Congress about a purported health care shortfall in FY 2025 is inaccurate.

"The Biden-Harris administration should be ashamed of themselves for how they have mismanaged the VA budget and scared veterans to death about the security of their health care and benefits," said Chairman Bost. "This latest stunt is not just an accounting error - Congress passed, and the president signed into law nearly three billion additional taxpayer dollars because this administration's handpicked VA leaders repeatedly told us that benefits funding was on the verge of running out and veterans could be harmed. But it turns out that was never true. VA has told us, less than one week out from an election, that they had a more than two-billion-dollar cushion and veterans' benefits were never going to be affected. We will be launching a full investigation to get to the bottom of this, but until then I have one question for Secretary McDonough: who is counting the money and when will they be held accountable?"

"The Biden-Harris administration has once again used veterans for their own political ambitions. After yelling fire in a crowded theatre, this administration has admitted that veterans were never in danger of losing their benefits. This behavior is unconscionable and a danger to our veterans. Veterans deserve our respect, they're not political pawns, but heroes. The Biden-Harris administration should be ashamed. As chairman of the Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, I'll make sure we are holding the VA accountable for this stunt," said House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Chairman John Carter.

Full text of the latest letter the Members sent can be found here and below:

Dear Secretary McDonough:

Two days ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provided information that is partially responsive to our September 27, 2024, letter requesting that you reconcile accounts for fiscal year (FY) 2024 and see where the books actually stand before making any definitive statements about the resources you have and additional resources you may need in FY 2025. The response shows that, in fact, no benefits shortfall ever existed and much of the information your leadership team has provided about a purported health care shortfall was erroneous. This revelation severely undermines our confidence in the Biden-Harris administration's stewardship of the federal budget and your management of VA. Troublingly, it suggests that Under Secretary for Benefits Joshua Jacobs, Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal, and their chief financial officers repeatedly misinformed Congress and our nation's veterans, even risking inciting a panic among veterans about their benefits being delayed or cut. We question who directed them to do this. Their utter inability to forecast and determine costs accurately erodes Congress' faith in VA.

Specifically, according to VA's briefing paper, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) carried over approximately $5.1 billion unspent from FY 2024 to FY 2025 including $4.4 billion for Disability Compensation and Pension and $689 million for Readjustment Benefits. Without the additional $2.883 billion appropriated in the Veterans Benefits Continuity and Accountability Supplemental Appropriations Act (Public Law 118-82), VBA still would have carried over $2.1 billion in unspent Disability Compensation and Pension funds and $92 million of unspent Readjustment Benefits funds. VA acknowledges in its paper that, "this carry-over amount also means that we did not use the $2.833 [sic] billion in supplemental funding provided by Congress last month to address FY 2024 requirements."

Additionally, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) finished FY 2024 with unspent, carryover funds of "approximately what [VA] anticipated in the FY 2025 budget" rather than the drastically reduced levels that have been used to demonstrate a $12 billion shortfall. Rather than spiking due to increased enrollment, "the cost of [VHA's] workforce was lower than expected, [VHA] limited purchases of new equipment compared to what had been anticipated, and community care only grew at the rate anticipated by the FY 2025 budget request."

For the sake of veterans' and taxpayers' remaining confidence in VA, we urge you to come clean about this situation by immediately responding to all outstanding questions in our July 17th and September 27th letters, swiftly producing any and all additional information requested by our committees, and making all relevant VA officials available for questioning by the Office of Inspector General and our staffs.

We request that you preserve any and all documents or records of communications among VA employees as well as between VA employees and Office of Management and Budget employees regarding or pertaining to actual or potential budget shortfalls in VBA or VHA in FY 2024 or FY 2025. This preservation request applies to all documents, records, memoranda, correspondence, phone records, electronic communications, or any portion thereof pertaining or relevant to this subject matter. To preserve these documents and records, reasonable steps must be taken to prevent their destruction, deletion, shredding, alteration, mutation, relocation, theft, or negligent handling that would render them incomplete or inaccessible.

Thank you for your attention to this critical matter. Please do not hesitate to have your staff contact our respective committee staffs with any questions about compliance with these requests.

Sincerely,

MIKE BOST
Chairman

JOHN R. CARTER
Chairman
Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations

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