U.S. Senator Ken Salazar

Member: Agriculture, Energy, Veterans' Affairs, Ethics and Aging Committees

 

2300 15th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510

 

 

For Immediate Release

September 20, 2006

CONTACT:    Cody Wertz – Comm. Director

                        303-455-7600

Andrew Nannis  – Press Secretary

                        202-224-5852


  Sen. Salazar: GAO Report “Demonstrates Clearly The VA Is Unprepared”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – United States Senator Ken Salazar today commented on a scathing report by the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) that found that shortfalls in the Veterans Affairs’ health care budget were the result of “unrealistic assumptions, errors in estimation, and insufficient data.”

“I am deeply troubled by the central findings of this report, which demonstrate clearly that the VA has been unprepared to provide our veterans with the services and care they have earned.

“I am extremely concerned about the failure to account for our servicemen and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. This is yet another example of how the Administration has failed to adequately prepare for the aftermath of the war.

“Specifically, VA has consistently erred in its assumptions and calculations about how to meet the needs of our veterans; it has not taken a realistic approach to addressing the budgetary challenges it faces; and it has not been forthcoming with information about these challenges.

“The Administration owes it to the brave men and women who sacrificed for our country to prepare diligently to serve them, and to be honest about its mistakes. If we are not honest, we will never address the root causes of this problem and the cycle will simply continue.

“Our fighting men and women and our veterans deserve better.”

The GAO report, which Senator Salazar requested last summer after the VA disclosed a surprise $1 billion shortfall in health care funding, found that:

  • The VA was not adequately prepared to carry out their mandate to serve the Nation’s veterans, resulting in part from “unrealistic assumptions, errors in estimation, and insufficient data”;
  • After discovering that significant budget challenges were likely, VA officials waited several months to notify Congress. When they finally did, they provided data that was less explanatory and less detailed than the information they had internally;
  • These problems are not the result of routine errors; there appears to be systemic problems within the Administration in budgeting appropriately for the needs of our nation’s veterans;
  • The Administration – through OMB – told agencies to pay for “new” initiatives with funds taken from existing programs. However, the veterans’ population is not static, largely because of the influx of service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan; and
  • DOD provided inadequate data to the VA for the purposes of planning for the care of our returning soldiers.

A full copy of the GAO report on the VA can be viewed by clicking here.

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