U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and her Republican colleagues want to hold the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) responsible for the current $3 billion budget shortfall and an expected $12 billion shortfall in fiscal year 2025 at the VA’s Veterans Benefits Administration.
“The VA’s budget shortfall that put millions of veterans’ benefits at risk is only the agency’s latest failure to responsibly manage federal funds under the Biden-Harris administration’s leadership, and it proves the VA needs to be subject to greater accountability and oversight,” Sen. Blackburn said on Monday. “This legislation would require the VA to provide regular, in-person budget reports to Congress to ensure they are properly managing taxpayer dollars.”
Sen. Blackburn on Sept. 17 signed on as one of 14 original cosponsors of the Protecting Regular Order (PRO) for Veterans Act, S. 5074, which is sponsored by U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK). Among her fellow cosponsors are U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Thom Tillis (R-NC).
If enacted, S. 5074 would institute a three-year requirement for the VA to submit quarterly in-person budget reports to Congress to give federal legislators the opportunity to ask questions and strengthen oversight and accountability of the VA, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Blackburn’s staff.
If there are VA budget shortfalls found outside of regular order, the bill would restrict bonuses for Senior Executive Service employees in the VA’s central office, as well as employees at the Office of Management and Budget, the summary says.
The measure is under consideration by the U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.