‘There Is A Real Problem Here’: Mike Bost Raises Concern About VA’s Management Of Taxpayer Dollars

5 months ago

During a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday, Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) gave opening remarks about the VA’s FY 2025 & 2026 budget.

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Transcript

00:00 Good morning. The committee will come to order.

00:02 And now I want to welcome Secretary McDonough to review the VA budget request for '25 and '26.

00:08 And I want to let everyone know that we're expected to recess about 10.30 for the Japanese Prime Minister to address the joint session.

00:17 And then we'll resume the hearing after that.

00:19 But I want to thank all the witnesses for their patience when we're dealing with this situation.

00:23 So I want to get right to it.

00:26 So, you know, the President's request, $369 billion for the VA fiscal year 2025.

00:34 Now that's nearly 10% increase from this year.

00:38 In March, Congress already appropriated the vast majority of the 2025 funding, or $295 billion.

00:46 In June of last year, Congress already appropriated $24.5 billion for Toxic Exposure Fund for 2025.

00:55 So we are here today considering the remaining VA account for 2025 and the advance request for 2026.

01:03 Congress has always -- I want to say this real clear.

01:07 Congress has always prioritized veterans and met VA needs.

01:11 In fact, for the most part, the department already has received their funding for FY 2025.

01:19 And I don't want to hear any more baseline rumors and scare tactics about Congress cutting off support for veterans like we heard last year.

01:29 It is disrespectful to the men and women who have served our great nation to spread lies in an attempt to score political points.

01:38 And we won't do it. We can't.

01:41 I want to have a serious conversation about how VA is managing their taxpayer dollars that Congress provides.

01:49 There is a real problem here.

01:52 Somehow, despite the nearly $17 billion increase this year and $33 billion requested for next year,

02:00 the second largest federal agency can barely keep its lights on.

02:05 Hiring has been cut back or frozen.

02:08 The health care workforce is shrinking by 10,000 positions.

02:12 Construction to modernize the VA facilities has flatlined to only two major projects.

02:20 IT investments have been cut by 99%.

02:24 Some existing projects barely have enough funding to continue, and new projects are off the table.

02:31 The White House seems to be shortchanging many of the priorities that President Biden presents in his own budget.

02:37 And many of our priorities as well.

02:40 The overall request increase is large, but a lot of the money seems to be in the wrong places.

02:47 The simple explanation is that VA used the enhanced pay authority that Congress provided in the PACT Act and elsewhere

02:56 to spend themselves into a deficit in many VA offices.

03:01 They can no longer afford the employees they have now, much less recruit talented new ones.

03:07 It is the opposite of what Congress intended when we provided these authorities.

03:14 I absolutely support the PACT Act, but VA implementation of parts of the law is getting very confusing.

03:22 We're hearing from some members' offices that the VA medical centers don't even understand the new eligibility criteria for veterans.

03:30 And the whole VA budget is reliant on gimmicks that get more and more complicated every year.

03:38 I'm talking about transfers, carryovers, transformation funds, unfunded requirements,

03:44 doing away with a second bite for health care, and a mandatory construction account that doesn't exist.

03:50 And yes, despite Congress's intent, VA is using toxic exposure funds as another budget gimmick.

03:57 They are shifting regular expenses out of the baseline budget, dumping them in the toxic exposure fund.

04:03 Like it or not, 40 percent of the toxic exposure funds is community care.

04:08 The VA budget simply does not have to be this complicated,

04:12 especially because unlike the federal agencies, Congress always found ways to provide VA, prioritize VA.

04:22 We always have, and I'm confident that we always will.

04:26 I have faith in the Appropriations Committee to sort out the VA's accounts.

04:31 We have to do our part, too, as the authorizing committee.

04:35 I want effective programs and realistic estimates.

04:39 I want the dollars to actually benefit the veterans, family members, and survivors.

04:44 And we always have to stand guard against growth in the bureaucracy.

04:49 We have in front of us one of the most confusing VA budgets I've ever seen.

04:54 Somehow, a 10 percent overall increase contains a lot of cuts in a lot of different areas that frankly don't make sense.

05:02 But I am committed to protecting health care and benefits, and I hope we work together to do that.

05:10 With that, I want to thank Secretary McDonough and his representatives,

05:16 and the representatives of DAV, PVA, and VFW, who will also be testifying on the second panel.

‘There Is A Real Problem Here’: Mike Bost Raises Concern About VA’s Management Of Taxpayer Dollars

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