The Government Accountability Office has made an initial
report of an investigation requested by House Committee on
Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Steve Buyer, R-Ind., and members
of the Senate. GAO blamed unrealistic assumptions, errors in
estimates, insufficient data, and an unresponsive budget
model for health care funding shortfalls at the Department
of Veterans Affairs in fiscal years 2005 and 2006. GAO
declared that the federal budgeting process itself, which
uses information up to three or more years old, had
contributed to shortfalls. Projections were understated for
a number of reasons, including returning Operation Enduring
Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom soldiers and
requirements for long-term care. The funding shortages,
which were discovered by VA officials in the spring of 2005,
were ultimately filled by supplemental funding. The GAO will
continue its review of the process used by the administration
to formulate the VA budget. (See next item.)
