The House passed a bill on Sept. 17 to give additional funding to the Department of Veterans Affairs as the agency faces a budget shortfall.
The funding would go toward veterans’ benefits, compensation, and pensions.
The agency told Congress in July that it was $3 billion short through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, citing an increase in veterans benefits. The agency is also $12 billion short the following year.
The bill would allocate almost $2.29 billion for pensions and compensation and almost $597 million for benefits to help veterans readjust to life outside the military.
The measure would require the VA secretary, within 30 days following its enactment, to submit a report to Congress “detailing corrections the department will make to improve forecasting, data quality and budget assumptions relating to budget submissions for funds” allocated under the bill.
The secretary would also have to submit a report within 60 days of the bill becoming law and 90 days thereafter to Congress about the status of the funds.
The bill would also require the VA’s inspector general to submit a report to Congress within 180 days of the bill’s enactment about the VA shortfalls in the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.
The review would include “a comparison of monthly obligations and expenditures in relevant accounts against the spend plan of the department; the reasons for any significant diversions of obligations or expenditures from the spend plan; an analysis of the accuracy of projections and estimates relevant to such diversions; and any other matter determined relevant by the inspector general.”
In a statement to The Epoch Times, the VA explained the shortfall was due to factors such as its facilities being busier and more veterans getting disability compensation benefits.
“These important results for veterans and survivors have exceeded even the most aggressive projections and expectations,” said VA press secretary Terrence Hayes.
Veterans groups issued statements praising the bill’s steps toward preventing future shortfalls.
“Funding and benefit gaps are unacceptable to us and the veterans we serve, and Congress must continue to hold the VA accountable for the excessive spending, potential waste, and ineffective programs that put us in this position,” said AMVETS National Executive Director Joe Chenelly.
John Byrnes, strategic director of Concerned Veterans for America, criticized the VA’s lack of fiscal discipline.
“It is unacceptable that a lack of basic fiscal responsibility has endangered our nation’s veterans’ well-being,” he said. “This bill covers the recent shortfall while providing for the desperately needed robust oversight of the VA’s budget process. Spending accountability at the VA is long overdue, and it is unfortunate that lack of responsibility there put veterans at risk.”
The White House has not taken a stance on the bill.
