U.S. Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) and U.S. Rep. French Hill (R-AR) reacted on Wednesday to a report that found that a federal solar project would be four years late and $1.5 million over budget.
Boozman and Hill requested that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigate reports that solar panels were removed from the Little Rock VA Medical Center in 2015 after going unused for two years.
“The Little Rock VA medical facility did not effectively plan the installation of a solar panel system,” the report concludes. “The system is not completed and is not generating solar power. The project experienced significant delays and additional contract costs due to disassembly of previously installed solar panel carport structures to accommodate a parking garage.”
The report found that the solar project cost more than $8 million and would be completed in January 2017, more than four years beyond its original due date and $1.5 million over budget.
The OIG report does little to instill confidence in the VA’s ability to manage construction projects, Hill said, and oversight must be stepped up in the future.
“Sen. Boozman and I asked the OIG to investigate both the Little Rock and similar projects in order to determine the efficacy of the solar projects nationwide,” Hill said. “Now we know that it isn’t solely a Little Rock VA problem — that cost taxpayers an additional $1.5 million — but one that has a much larger geographic and fiscal scope than originally believed. We need to increase oversight into all VA construction activities to ensure these types of avoidable failures do not happen in the future.”
Boozman added that the takeaway from the report was a lack of accountability and oversight within the VA when it comes to the Green Management Program.
“This must change,” Boozman said. “VA’s refusal to accept the OIG’s recommendation that it conduct the proper assessments necessary to prevent future failures of this magnitude is unacceptable. Steps must be taken to ensure that resources meant to help our veterans are not squandered on wasteful projects. Congressman Hill and I are committed to ensuring that the poor management practices of the VA’s solar panel projects are addressed.”