Budget Hearing - U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
House Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
2025-05-15
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Source: Congress.gov
Participants
Transcript
And here you are at your first appearance before the committee, subcommittee. We value the opportunity to engage in an open and productive dialogue with you as we work together to strengthen the department's mission. We are here today to discuss the fiscal year 2026 budget. In the beginning of May, we received the skinny book, skinny budget, that outlined what the department's top priorities will be. While the overview was brief, I'm looking forward to hearing more details today. I like how these priorities will translate into improved outcomes for our veterans, and more effective management across the department. I appreciate the continued investment in electronic healthcare record modernization with a $2.2 billion request. While I strongly support this effort, I must acknowledge that the implementation so far has been challenging, to say the least. over budget and behind schedule. We owe it to our veterans and to the taxpayers to deliver a system successfully. And we hope you can share how the department plans to support the rapid expansion of the effort. President Trump has surpassed his first 100 days and is working toward cutting federal spending to help address the national crisis across this country that is faced by the people. We understand the proposals are being discussed that involve cuts to contracts and personnel.
While we support the need to eliminate inefficiencies, it is critical that such efforts are executed thoughtfully and without compromising the care and services our veterans rely on. I'm sure these proposals will be a large part of today's conversation. Above all, this subcommittee has and will always remain committed to ensuring veterans receive the benefits and health care they earned. We will always meet our commitment to them. Unfortunately, I know that some of our friends on the other side have recently used rhetoric and fear-mongering tactics to claim that we aren't fully funding veterans, but that is not true and created unnecessary confusion and chaos for our veterans. We cannot continue to play politics with veterans' benefits in healthcare. In this recent video release, you simply stated things need to change. We are here today to let you know we agree that with a wish to discuss how we are working to transform the Department of Veterans Affairs, hopefully for the better. Things we need to change prior to the last administration's exit. The department notified Congress of a proposed $15 billion shortfall, which we now confirm was a gross overestimation. And there are numerous missteps.
in how benefits and medical budgets are forecast. These budget fluctuations and inaccuracies from the prior administration have shaken Congress's confidence in VA's ability to forecast its resource needs. I know it will be a heavy lift to address this in a quick manner, but we look forward to working with you on this and everything else. And now I'd like to recognize Ms. Wasserman-Schultz for her opening remarks.
U
Unknown (SPEAKER_06)
We're here today to discuss what very little we know about the fiscal year 2026 budget request for the Department of Veterans Affairs. On May 2nd, the administration sent Congress its quote skinny budget. a 46-page document with highlights and summaries of what we might expect from the full budget request. But this 46-page skinny budget document included just four lines for VA, and this half a page of information is all we have on the 2026 VA budget request. That's hardly enough information to have a fruitful discussion about the budget request before us today. But what we do have is four months of very troubling actions at VA since the start of this administration.
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