VIDEO: Kuster Questions VA Officials on Contract Issues

Last night, U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, D-NH, helped oversee a House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation (O&I) hearing, where she continued to question VA officials about their inefficient and potentially fraudulent procurement policies, according to a press statement.

During the hearing, Ranking Member Kuster focused on the VA’s pledge to prioritize contracts for small businesses, and asked officials whether data regarding these contracts had been misreported or manipulated.

“As we continue to hold hearings on the VA’s procurement process, I’m increasingly shocked by the lack of oversight, alleged misreporting of data, and even fraudulent practices being described by a whistleblower at the VA. Furthermore, as both a strong supporter of small business development and an advocate for cutting costs and saving taxpayer dollars, I’m dismayed to hear that the VA may have failed to properly enter into promised contracts with small business owners across the country, which would have helped bolster economic growth. Instead, we’re hearing that it’s possible the VA may have wasted thousands of dollars purchasing resources without an agreed-upon contract. Today, I asked VA officials how they plan to prevent this practice from ever occurring again in the future, and I will closely monitor the VA’s progress moving forward.”

The VA is required to enter into contracts with small businesses across the nation, in order to support small business growth and save money on purchases that would be cost-prohibitive without a contract. However, recent Inspector General reports and testimony from VA officials have shown that the VA has failed to report accurately on its contracting goals, and may have manipulated data in order to mask this failure. For example, the VA is now being investigated for wrongfully using VA ‘purchase cards’ to acquire thousands of dollars’ worth of prosthetics, and allegedly reporting these purchases as contracts, which was not the case.

A member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee since taking office, Kuster helped lead the investigation into mismanagement scandals at the VA last year, and earlier this year she was named Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. This role allows the Congresswoman to continue to put additional pressure on the VA to improve access and quality of care, and to cut down on waste, fraud, and abuse. Furthermore, Kuster has long championed federal efforts to award contracts to small businesses, and last year she introduced legislation to increase federal contracting opportunities for veteran-owned small businesses. During today’s hearing, Kuster questioned VA officials about attempts to undermine the federal process for awarding contracts, which hurts small business owners across the nation whose companies would benefit from the expected contracting opportunities at the VA, and which promotes reckless spending and waste.