Jeff Miller Wants Answers From VA on Budget Problems

U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., will be focused on the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) budget as the House Veterans Affairs Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on Thursday. Miller chairs the committee. 

“VA’s continued lack of transparency and refusal to be forthright with Congress is unacceptable,” Miller said on Tuesday. “It was not until I called a hearing in response to warnings from the field about the budget that VA admitted to a $2.6 billion shortfall. Secretary McDonald has testified 4 times within nearly as many months about VA’s budget, without ever mentioning a shortfall of this magnitude. 

“Less than 3 weeks ago, VA came to Congress asking to remove $534 million from medical care to pay for the largest construction failure in VA history,” Miller added. “Talking around the facts and alluding to the need for budget flexibility without justification or supporting data has become an all too familiar practice at VA. I look forward to discussing with Deputy Secretary Gibson how such a massive shortfall could have come as a surprise to the department, and how to put an end to these frequent cost overruns while ensuring veterans receive the care they have earned.”