Is VA’s $15 Billion Shortfall a Result of Political Maneuvering?
Congressional leaders are raising eyebrows over a potential link between the Department of Veterans Affairs’ staggering $15 billion budget shortfall and its recent initiatives to promote voter registration in two critical swing states.
This development has sparked a debate on whether the VA’s resources are being diverted for political purposes, especially as the November Presidential election looms.
Recently, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently reported a staggering $15 billion budget shortfall, raising concerns about the allocation of funds. Last month, VA officials informed Congress that this deficit is expected to impact veteran benefits and healthcare over the next two years.
Interestingly, this financial gap coincides with the implementation of Executive Order (EO) 14019, signed by the Biden/Harris administration in 2021. This order directs the VA to promote voter registration campaigns specifically in Michigan and Pennsylvania—two critical battleground states for the upcoming Presidential election.
As the November election approaches, the focus on these states could significantly influence the outcome. But does this political strategy justify the potential compromise on veteran services?
Let’s delve deeper into the implications.
Yes, better access to voting is a good thing… and it is the responsibility of the states to coordinate resources to ensure registered voters have appropriate access to voter resources.
VA, meanwhile, is supposed to be a politically agnostic agency charged with providing healthcare and benefits to veterans. Its motto says it all:
“To fulfill President Lincoln’s promise to care for those who have served in our nation’s military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors”
Despite record budgets over the years, VA is now coming up significantly short to the tune of $15 billion.
The Congress within the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is suspicious the shortfall may be in part due to the reallocation of resources away from the agency’s Congressionally approved mission. Instead, at least some of the budget seems curiously targeted at voter activities only in two swing states.
We would argue VA should spend none of its money on voting activities, and all of its resources should be spent on providing healthcare and benefits to veterans, and supporting their families, caregivers, and survivors.
The instant complaint from Congress follows the agency’s recent debacle from overpaying senior agency executives in a manner that was not compliant with the law.
READ: VA Overpays Ineligible Executives Nearly $11 Million
That scandal came about one year after VA was caught using its resources to schedule and pay for medical examinations in the private sector for illegal immigrants in Texas.
READ: New Bill To Block Use Of VA Funds For Illegal Migrants
Now, VA is also working as a voter registration agency under the Executive Order?
In Pennsylvania and Michigan, it sure looks that way.
Quick Background
Some of you may be unfamiliar with the background of Denis McDonough before he started at the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in the second largest cabinet-level agency in the federal government.
Previously, McDonough served in various leadership roles within the Obama Administration, working directly with President Obama and Vice President Biden. McDonough served as the White House chief of staff under from 2013 to 2017. Before that, he served as the chief of staff in the National Security Council and principal deputy national security advisor to then-President Obama.
He was in the White House “situation room” when Osama Bin Laden was reportedly killed during a Navy SEALs raid seated next to Hillary Clinton and directly across from former President Obama in the widely circulated photograph with Hillary Clinton holding her hand over her mouth from the White House Handout.
His official VA biography notes, during that tenure, he “confronted management issues facing the federal government, and devised and enforced goals, plans, and performance standards to preserve the Obama-Biden Administration’s reputation for effective, ethical operations.”
Notably, before the current administration, I had never noticed official biographies referencing any administration with a hyphen between the president and vice president, but I digress.
McDonough is the second non-veteran to serve as VA Secretary in its history, and he was selected by the Biden Administration to carry forward
According to a USA Today article, McDonough thinks of his job as, “My job is to “Fight like hell for vets’.”
READ: Former Obama Chief Of Staff McDonough Helms The VA: An Exclusive Look At His Leadership
Historic Budget Shortfall
In July, VA announced its mission of serving veterans would be adversely impacted if they did not receive an additional $15 billion for its budget due to incorrect projections.
For FY 2024, the President’s ask of Congress was for VA to be funded at $325 billion. Its request for FY 2025 was $369 billion. In July, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough told Congress the agency needed another $15 billion due to a shortfall starting July 2024 through October 2025.
According to a Federal News Network report on the request:
House VA Committee Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.) says chief financial officers from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) told the committee Monday that they face a $2.88 billion shortfall for the rest of this fiscal year, and a nearly $12 billion shortfall for fiscal 2025.
The VA gets funding for its mandatory health and benefits programs a year before the current fiscal year to avoid any disruption from a government shutdown.
The CFOs, Bost added, attributed the funding discrepancy to increased hiring and pharmaceutical costs.
In a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough, Bost said the $15 billion funding gap is the VA’s largest budget shortfall, “and a repudiation of the FY 2025 budget request that the Biden-Harris administration presented just four months ago.”
“Not only have your chief financial officers thrown out the dollar amounts requested for many key accounts, they have abandoned many of the estimates and projections that underpinned their budget. This is not just fiscal mismanagement; it is strategic whiplash,” he wrote.
VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes confirmed the department’s projected budget deficits in a statement to reporters Thursday morning.
“VA is working closely with Congress and the Office of Management and Budget to resolve these potential shortfalls in a way that prevents any adverse impacts on veterans — and allows us to continue to deliver care and benefits to veterans at record rates,” Hayes said.
The VA, he added, is delivering record levels of health care and benefits to veterans under the 2022 PACT Act, which expanded veterans’ eligibility for VA health care and benefits if they were exposed to toxic substances during their military service.
Since President Joe Biden signed the PACT Act, more than 710,000 veterans have enrolled in VA health care, a more than 34% increase compared to the same period before the legislation.
VBA also expects to break new records this year for the volume of disability benefits claims it’ll pay out to veterans.
“These important results for veterans and survivors exceeded initial expectations,” Hayes said.
Remember, for FY 2025, VA requested $369.3 billion budget, which was an increase of 9.8 percent from the prior year. But it appears the agency may be running additional projects outside the general scope of what Congress has approved for the agency’s mission based on Executive Order 14019.
Congress On Executive Order 14019
First, Executive Order 14019 was signed into effect on March 07, 2021, pointing to sentiment on the 56th anniversary of the Selma, Alabama protest and the resultant 1965 Voting Rights Act.
The Biden Administration ordered the Federal Chief Information Officer of the United States to coordinate across federal agencies to use agency resources. This included ensuring websites were accessible for “individuals with disabilities” and “people with limited English proficiency.”
Citing the 1993 National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), Biden’s author argued it is the duty of federal agencies to help register voters, and it explained further that federal agencies can only become “voter registration agencies” at a state’s request.
Federal agencies providing direct services to underserved communities represent a unique opportunity to provide access to voter registration services. Under today’s action, the head of each federal agency will evaluate where and how the federal agency provides services that directly engage with the public, and to the greatest extent possible, formally notify states in which it provides services that it would agree to designation as a voter registration agency. If requested by a state to be designated as a voter registration agency, the federal agency shall to the greatest extent possible agree to such designation.
It appears, based on the elements above, that VA is now a voter registration agency at the request of Pennsylvania and Michigan as of 2024.
Over the past month, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost, (R-Ill) has written numerous letters to the Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough to get answers.
Executive Order 14019 is called “Access to Voting.” Chairman Bost, a US Marine veteran, describes the order as “troubling” in his second letter to the VA secretary asking for an explanation.
The lack of transparency on the VA’s side during the investigation is a concern and the House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs wants answers. Chairman Bost said, “Given VA’s actions, and the apparent indifference displayed towards legitimate Committee oversight, I am concerned the VA may be inappropriately using its resources to implement EO 14019. This is even more troubling considering VA recently announced an anticipated $15 billion budget shortfall for the fiscal years 2024 and 2025.”
The VA asked Congress for $3 billion to fund necessary benefits through the fiscal year and then an additional $12 billion for medical and disability benefits in the 2025 fiscal year. Millions of veteran benefits are in danger of being delayed significantly if funding is not received by September. However, the Biden/Harris administration is pushing VA resources to focus on voter registration at VA facilities in only two states, which happen to be key states in the upcoming presidential election.
Where Did The Money Go?
Instead of using critical money that could be used to help veterans, and their families receive their benefits to recruit veteran voters, our leaders should get to the bottom of why the VA needs so much money. If the VA is mismanaged to this extent, why did senior VA managers receive over $10 million in bonuses in 2023?
Veterans all over the country are unable to receive the care they need and deserve because… VA stuff.
VA continues its failed policies and protocols as if veterans exist to serve the agency’s incredible appetite for taxpayer cash versus serving veterans. They have failed to provide community care authorizations, delayed disability claim exams and processing, and issued unauthorized denials; yet many senior executive service members received bonuses.
The agency isn’t even timely paying for veterans’ compensation examinations causing disabled veterans to be at risk of financial hardship and credit downgrades.
What did VA do with all that money it received in 2023?
In the Fall of 2023, Congress authorized $10.8 million under the PACT Act for the VA to attract and retain employees with specific skills that are mission-critical and in high demand, but these incentives were funneled instead to over 180 executives within the VA.
The funds were to be used to help with the onset of additional disability claims and needed healthcare due to the roll-out of the PACT Act, but the funds seem to have been misused by one of the largest government agencies in the nation.
Some of these same executives and higher-level VA management were formerly relieved of duty during the Trump administration only to be rehired with back pay.
The United States Department of Veteran’s Affairs was established with the purpose of providing health care, benefits and burial services to military veterans and their families. These veterans and their families have made so many sacrifices for this great country and the United States owes them a higher commitment to take care of them. Political agendas seem to find a way into most government agencies, but veterans should not have to suffer because of it.
Below is straight from the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs website about the curious voter registration activities by Kathleen McCarthy at the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
Biden-Harris VA Continues to Hide the Ball on Voter Registration Actions
Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.), released a second letter he sent to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough about the lack of transparency from the department surrounding the implementation of the Biden-Harris administration’s Executive Order (EO) 14019, “Promoting Access to Voting.” VA had announced that it was partnering with Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky to operate as a “voter registration agency” for the first time ever, at the direction of EO 14019. However, based on the Chairman’s investigation and despite VA’s lack of transparency, it appears that the Commonwealth of Kentucky is not partnering with VA. Without any explanations or answers to the Chairman’s inquiries, it appears that VA is conducting voter registration activities in two states, and two states only: Pennsylvania and Michigan.
As Chairman Bost previously stated, “VA’s sole mission should be serving veterans, their families, and their survivors – period. But under Joe Biden’s leadership, it appears that the Biden [Harris] Campaign is directly using VA and its resources, at a time when VA is facing a $14.8 billion dollar budget shortfall, to promote voter registration activities in two states which are repeatedly labeled as key battleground states that could determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. This is happening at the same time when VA continues to hide the ball and repeatedly refuses to provide more information to Congress to answer legitimate questions on its operations as a voter registration agency,” said Chairman Bost. “These actions by the Biden administration come as veterans are openly being denied community care referrals for their healthcare, rural and remote veterans can’t get exams for their disability benefits, and accountability for failing leaders who aren’t putting our veterans first is nonexistent. It’s time for this administration to get their priorities straight.”
To read the first letter Chairman Bost sent to Secretary McDonough on EO 14019, click here.
Full text of the second letter Chairman Bost sent to Secretary McDonough on this topic can be found here and below:
Dear Secretary McDonough:
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) apparent disregard for the oversight authority of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (Committee) regarding VA’s implementation of Executive Order (EO) 14019, “Promoting Access to Voting” is very troubling. The Committee sent an initial request for information on June 14, 2024, then followed up on that request and sought a briefing on this issue on June 26, 2024. VA has not answered these requests. I then sent a letter on July 9, 2024, further detailing my concerns on the subject, informing VA of the Committee’s ongoing investigation, and again requesting information about VA’s implementation of EO 14019. More than a month has passed, and VA has yet to respond to a single question or schedule the requested briefing.
Pursuant to the Committee’s legislative and oversight jurisdiction over the administration of VA and its operations, see House Rule X.1(s), Rules of the House of Representatives, 118th Cong. (2023), the Committee seeks information regarding VA’s EO 14019 implementation—including information on VA’s activities as a voter registration agency in key battleground states like Pennsylvania and Michigan. I am concerned VA is becoming a voter registration agency and potentially working with third-party organizations to facilitate voter registration at VA facilities. This is clearly not within the mission of the Department. Committee oversight is necessary to ensure VA is not misusing its resources to perform functions it has never done and that are outside its core statutory mission of caring for veterans. Given VA’s actions, and the apparent indifference displayed towards legitimate Committee oversight, I am concerned VA may be inappropriately using its resources to implement EO 14019. This is even more troubling considering VA recently announced an anticipated $15 billion budget shortfall for fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
Congress’s role in conducting oversight is crucial to the democratic process and cannot be fulfilled without all relevant information. As such, please respond to the previous requests for information, propose a date and time for a briefing on this topic, and respond to my letter no later than July 25, 2024. If VA does not fully comply with these requests, the Committee will consider using compulsory process to obtain the necessary information.
Sincerely,
MIKE BOST
Chairman
Sources:
https://veterans.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=6521
The psychologist confidence man will ask you, “So what brings you here? What do you want to accomplish by coming here to see me?” If you don’t answer a certain way, they’re gonna use that to make assumptions about your character or mental health. So basically a big confidence scheme because it’s THEM who should tell YOU what they do and why you should be there feeding their fuckin ass. Like, “Tell me what the fuck you do for a change! I’m there to help myself? Then why am I even here? What the fuck are you about and what do YOU do!” Don’t hand me no upper class wanna be grifter bullshit. I’ll just go get a drink or some goddamn dope and you can sit on your fat ass all day.
They’ll fuck you and then turn right around and act like nothing happened or they don’t know what you’re talking about. They’ll call you entitled if you ask for anything whatsoever. Big joke and an insult heathcare.
You got a 50% chance of getting fucked at the VA and they have two “sides” in the clinics..the mental health side and the physical health side. That’s a 50% chance on each side. That adds up to a 100% chance that you get fucked at some point in time if you visit both sides. Eventually someone will fuck you somehow guaranteed.
Let the shortfall continue accept for VA benefits. The mental health people will take anything and everything you say and use it to assassinate your character or paint you as a threat. Do not take a chance with those people. Get insurance with the benefits money. They have zero control over those people who work for VHA and their jobs are protected so they don’t care. They’ll do whatever in the hell they feel like doing.
Thanks for this Ben. There is no end to the corruption and sacrificing Vets/care has always been the modus operandi.
In Oregon, Roseburg VA Director Patrick Hull is failing Veterans at levels never seen before. The failed delivery of mental health care to Veterans with suicidal ideations, suffering from addiction should be criminalized, not rewarded with a bonus.
Send the psychologists home. They are worthless. They do nothing but use people as guinea pigs, make bogus claims and predictions, and their views about human beings in general are something out of a science fiction novel. They’re creepy, and like priests and politicians, they’re snake oil salesmen. Totally worthless. They have almost no good solutions.
I doubt the voter registration initiatives have much to do with $15 billion shortfall but ok. They deny enough care and lose enough veterans to be able to still operate with the shortfall. Now continue to get rid of the dead weight at VA, the real ones soaking up all the money, and start authorizing community care. All they really need is one ape at each of the CBOC locations authorizing community care. Send everyone else home. Then if that one ape isn’t authorizing care…he can become the focus of all the anger.
Jon Tester, is a major problem with the VA system he needs to go away. The veterans have been saying for decades that the VA is out of control, and corrupt in providing medical care for us veterans,, NO ONE in Congress, the Press or anywhere you can think of has given any heed to this notification now the managers
of the got 10 million dollars in bonuses, bonus for WHAT not doing their jobs.