Chairman Bost Requests More Transparency from VA on Spent and Unspent COVID Dollars

Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.) released the following letter he sent to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough requesting more information on the way in which VA spent the supplemental funding they were given throughout the COVID pandemic. The Chairman’s letter also requests clarity on the roughly $4.5 billion that remain unexpended from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), which was provided to the Department by Congress. “Congress gave VA the money you requested and significant new flexibility to spend it to make sure VA could meet its mission throughout the pandemic,” the Chairman wrote in his letter. “However, during OIG’s recent review of VA’s spending of [Families First Coronavirus Response Act] FFCRA, OIG was unable to verify the Department’s obligations and expenditures matched the plans provided to Congress because it did not provide sufficient supporting documentation.” Full text of the letter the Chairman sent can be found here and below: Dear ...

Read More