Press Releases

Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.), released the following statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report entitled, “Review of VA’s $2.9 Billion Supplemental Funds Request for FY 2024 to Support Veterans’ Benefits Payments,” which confirmed Chairman Bost and House Republicans concerns that senior Biden-Harris administration VA officials knew that VA was not ever in danger of adequately providing veterans with the benefits they have earned last year and Congress did not need to appropriate $3 billion in additional emergency taxpayer funds to VA for benefits to account for the fake shortfall:

“Today my team received a briefing from the VA Inspector General on the Biden administration’s budget accounting mess last year that spread fear among veterans and their families that their benefits were in jeopardy. Unfortunately, the Inspector General confirmed today what we always feared, that it appears that senior Biden VA officials repeatedly misled Congress on the reality of the situation. This is incredibly concerning given that President Biden urged Congress to provide billions of additional taxpayer dollars to account for something that never even existed,” said Chairman Bost. “My Committee will continue to review all information associated with this budget mess to get answers for veterans and taxpayers. I will not shy away from compulsory action to ensure that those who may have misled Congress are held accountable for their actions including reviewing possible perjury by VA officials for lying to Congress,” Chairman Bost continued. “Luckily for veterans and their families, there is a new sheriff in town at the agency and I have full confidence in Secretary Collins to manage VA’s budget properly and get to the bottom of this to ensure that nothing like this happens again.”

Last Congress, Chairman Bost sent multiple letters to then-VA Secretary Denis McDonough on this topic to get answers for veterans and their families who feared their benefits were in jeopardy. The Committee also held multiple hearings on this issue. Repeatedly, Biden-Harris administration VA officials doubled down in testimony before the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees that VA needed the additional funds to successfully deliver benefits. In November 2024, it was revealed that no Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) $3 billion shortfall existed, and Congress did not need to appropriate additional funds – despite already doing so in response to pleas from the previous administration – to deliver benefits to veterans.