Thank you for yielding Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, last Thursday, the full Committee reviewed the entire budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs for FY 2009. 

Today, we will be focusing on two specific portions of that budget.  The funding for the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the Office of Information and Technology (OI&T), over which this Subcommittee has direct oversight.

Over the past year, I have found the information reported to our Committee by the Office of Inspector General to be immensely useful in providing this Subcommittee with the information needed to conduct our oversight responsibilities.

 For FY 2008, the OIG was provided with sufficient funding to plus up their FTE staff to 488, an addition of 48 new staff members. 

I understand that the OIG is in the process of hiring these staff and they are to be assigned to several new high profile audits, healthcare inspections, and criminal investigations. 

However, I am greatly concerned about the FY 2009 budget request, which reduces the FTE staff by 48.  I hope to hear from the IG as to how this reduction in staff funding will affect the continuation of the audits already in process, and the future oversight investigations conducted by the OIG.

During this Subcommittee’s January 29 hearing on Patient Safety, I raised concerns about a possible reduction in the budget for the Office of Inspector General.  As I stated at that hearing, we have an obligation to ensure that the funding for the OIG is not only maintained at the FY 2008 levels, but that we work together to provide additional funding for FY 2009.   

The IG’s Combined Assessment Program (CAP) reviews perform an unmatchable cyclical audit that surveys patient safety, infrastructure safety, management efficiencies and allows VA to keep its finger on the pulse of the VA’s health delivery.

I was pleased to see that the President has requested a plus up for the Office of Information and Technology.  I know that the transition to a new centralized IT system has not always been smooth, but under the leadership of General Howard, it has moved forward, and I hold high hopes that the kinks, bumps, and turf wars along the way will continue to be worked out.  VA’s centralized IT infrastructure has been a landmark decision that all other departments could only hope for.

However, I want to make certain that the funding Congress provides to VA for its OI&T operations will be managed wisely, without unnecessary expenditures on IT systems that are stagnant and not moving forward.  We have often heard about the problems that plagued systems like the CoreFLS $340 million debacle, and the delays in moving off of legacy IT systems.  With the centralization of funding to one officer, such as Assistant Secretary Howard, I am hopeful that VA can move forward on the right track to provide systems that will be serve our nation’s veterans and give the American tax payer the most bangs for the buck.

In closing, I would like to again reiterate that I appreciate the chairman holding this hearing, so we can review in more detail the complex nature of each of these budget lines in the Department of Veterans Affairs budget, and I yield back the balance of my time.