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ENDING THE VA'S FUNDING CRISIS - by Larry Scott
--
While veterans' lives hang in the balance,
Congress
disregards the root cause of the VA's funding
difficulties.
The old budget process must be replaced by a
real-time,
mandatory funding mechanism based on actual
need.
Story below:
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June 21, 2007
Ending the VA’s Funding Crisis
While veterans’ lives hang in the balance, Congress disregards the root
cause of the VA’s funding difficulties. The old budget process must be
replaced by a real-time, mandatory funding mechanism based on actual
need.
by Larry Scott
When a problem confronts a for-profit business, executives often urge
each other to think “outside the box” the find solutions. This form of
problem solving seeks new solutions not already contained inside “the
box” of a corporate structure.
When it comes to properly funding the Department of Veterans’ Affairs
(VA), it’s not only time to think “outside the box,” it’s time to throw
away “the box” and develop a budget process that guarantees mandatory
funding that will meet the needs of all veterans.
VA finds itself chronically underfunded. Veterans wait months and
sometimes years for necessary medical care. This goes on while VA
officials claim they have adequate funding and staffing.
Systemic problems
So, where’s the disconnect? At the very top. VA Central Office (VACO)
officials working on a budget for two years from now are using data that
is at least two years old and then adding some “projections” to round
things out. There is little, if any, use of real-time data to ascertain
the current needs of VA hospitals and clinics. And, even if they did use
real-time data, they would have to “project” those figures out for two
years and hope they were right. It’s a task that’s impossible to do
correctly given the current budget system.
Then the figures the VA comes up with are sent to the White House. The
answer, invariably, is that it’s too much, so the VA goes back to work
and whittles it down. That budget then goes to Congress. There are
hearings. There are deals. There are floor fights. Some say it’s too
much while others keep adding to the total. Somewhere down the line, the
VA gets their budget, a figure that bears no relationship to the need in
the veterans’ community.
The other problem with the VA’s budget process is that there is little
oversight and lots of room for manipulation. This has caused many
problems in the past.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the VA, on orders
from the White House, re-worked a VA budget by inserting non-existent
“efficiencies,” thus lowering the total amount requested for that year.
The GAO also found that for two years running the VA did not disperse
all the funds allocated for mental health treatment leaving local
hospitals with a fraction of needed funding.
And, the political shenanigans surrounding VA funding is the stuff of
legend. This has gone on for years and both political parties are to
blame. The problems with VA funding are not partisan, but they are
political.
Who gets what?
The VA is divided into three Administrations. The Veterans’ Health
Administration (VHA) runs more than 1,400 hospitals and clinics. The
Veterans’ Benefits Administration (VBA) adjudicates claims for
disability compensation and then disburses the funds as awarded through
a system of 57 Regional Offices. And, the Veterans’ Cemetery
Administration (VCA) oversees the country’s 125 federal cemeteries
located in 39 states.
All of the above get their funding through the discretionary budget
process except for the funds allocated to pay veterans’ disability
compensation. VA disability compensation is part of the mandatory budget
process and, just like Social Security, the check is always “in the
mail.”
Thus, the VA finds itself subject to the whim of the White House,
Congress and its own high-ranking officials, many of whom are political
appointees and have been directly tied to budget shortfalls.
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Larry Scott --
