The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee is asking the Department of Justice to investigate whether former VA officials broke the law last summer when they told Congress a projected $15 billion budget shortfall would negatively impact veterans' health care and benefits.
In an April 29 letter, Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to “review a pattern of troubling actions taken by the following former Biden administration officials: Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough, Under Secretary for Benefits Joshua Jacobs, Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal, and any other officials involved in the formulation, justification, and communication of VA’s supplemental appropriations funding request for fiscal year (FY) 2024.”
House Democrats are calling the charge a political stunt.
McDonough and other VA staff told Congress last June that funding would run out in October of 2024 for veteran benefits and health care due to the shortfall.
In response, Congress passed a $3 billion emergency funding measure in September. Lawmakers were told in a memo from VA in November that the additional funding was not used and there was more than $2 billion left in its benefits accounts at the end of the fiscal year last October. VA officials blamed the discrepancy on a budgetary error.
"While the supplemental funding was not immediately utilized, it was critical that we had this funding on hand -- because if we had even been $1 short on Sept. 20, we could not certify our payment files and more than 7 million veterans and survivors would have had delays in their disability compensation, pension and education benefits on Oct. 1," the memo said.
In his letter, Bost wrote that VA leaders knew about the budget errors prior to Congress authorizing the additional funding and did not share that information.
“This delayed disclosure and the omission of available resources in key budget documents call into question the accuracy and integrity of [VA’s] budget justification process,” he said.
Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), ranking member on the HVAC, called the request from Bost a desperate political stunt in a statement.
“The truth is simple,” he said. “Former Secretary McDonough and his team led VA through one of its most successful eras in history.”
Takano said Bost and his colleagues are not focused on oversight.
“I am appalled by his recommendation and blatant weaponization of the judicial system. It is unprecedented, and the American people - especially our veterans - deserve better than sham investigations and political theater becoming the new normal.”
Bost’s letter also notes that two recent reports by the Office of Inspector General found the Biden administration’s $12 billion supplemental appropriations request for the Veterans Health Administration and its $2.9 billion supplemental appropriations request for the Veterans Benefit Administration were marred by financial mismanagement, internal communication failures, and potentially misleading representations to both Congress and the public.
“If any criminal or civil violations occurred, those responsible must be held accountable,” he said.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.