Republicans have introduced a bill that would shore up part of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ expected $15 billion budget shortfall and demanded that the Biden administration explain why the agency has a financial hole.
The Veterans Benefits Continuity and Accountability Supplemental Appropriations Act, introduced Friday by Rep. Mike Garcia, California Republican, would inject the agency with $3 billion in cash to make up for the gap by the end of September.
“The Biden-Harris administration’s reckless mismanagement of the VA’s budget has led to a crisis that puts veterans’ benefits at risk,” Mr. Garcia said. “This isn’t just about a funding shortfall — it’s about holding the administration accountable for its failures. We cannot simply throw more money at a broken system and enable further waste and mismanagement.”
VA officials warned Congress in July that they expected the agency would outspend this fiscal year’s budget by $2.88 billion and go over President Biden’s fiscal 2025 budget request by a further $11.97 billion.
The financial issue is tied to a massive uptick in veterans seeking benefits and the need to hire more employees to handle the surge, which was spurred by an aggressive campaign launched by the VA after Congress greenlit legislation that would grant benefits to veterans exposed to toxic substances and burn pits.
Mr. Garcia’s legislation doesn’t go all the way to address the agency’s expected shortfall next year. Instead, it requires that the Biden administration and Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough produce a report within 60 days of the bill’s passage that details how much money is left in pension and benefit accounts up to 2026.
The measure also would require reports on the accuracy of financial projections and the movement of money under the VA in fiscal 2025, plus a green light for the VA inspector general to investigate how the shortfall during this fiscal year happened.
“This shortfall is a glaring failure by the Biden-Harris administration and its VA, marking one of the largest financial discrepancies in recent history,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, Oklahoma Republican. “It also reflects a grave departure from their budget submission provided mere months ago. Our heroes deserve more than this incompetence.”
The bill isn’t scheduled to come to the House floor next week when lawmakers return to Washington. The legislation will likely be separate from the impending short-term funding patch.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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