[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8705-8706]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           WASTEFUL SPENDING

  Mr. COATS. Mr. President, it is ``Waste of the Week'' time again, and 
the waste of the Federal Government's spending just keeps piling up. 
Today, I am taking a look at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 
We all have a stake in this. I am a veteran, but even those of us who 
are not veterans have a stake in making sure our veterans are getting 
the use of taxpayer dollars for their benefit for the sacrifices they 
made.
  Over the past year, we have been hearing on the floor and continue to 
see story after story of mismanagement that is plaguing the VA. Many of 
these news articles tell the story of our Nation's heroes not receiving 
the care or the resources they have earned and that they deserve. Last 
month--just last month--I read yet another frightening headline, 
frustrating. ``Veterans Affairs improperly spent $6 Billion annually, 
senior VA official says''--improperly spent $6 billion annually.
  According to an internal memo written by the VA's senior official for 
procurement, the VA has been wasting taxpayer money by violating 
Federal contracting rules to pay for medical care and expenses. Under 
law, VA purchases require competitive bidding and proper contracts, but 
testimony from Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Logistics 
Jan Frye, before Congress last month revealed that just the opposite is 
occurring.
  So the medical care and supplies our veterans need for their medical 
needs are being compromised at a cost of $6 billion a year. Mr. Frye 
wrote:

       Over the past five years, some senior VA acquisition and 
     finance officials have willfully violated the public trust 
     while Federal procurement and financial laws were debased. 
     Their overt actions and dereliction of duties combined have 
     resulted in billions of taxpayer dollars being spent without 
     regard to Federal laws and regulations, making a mockery of 
     Federal statutes.

  An example of this violation is found with VA purchase cards. 
Typically, VA uses these cards for smaller purchases of up to $3,000, 
according to the rules and regulations. But they were inappropriately 
used to buy billions of dollars' worth of medical supplies without 
contracts or oversight. Mr. Frye continued:

       In addition, doors are flung wide open for fraud, waste and 
     abuse when contracts are not executed. For example, by law, 
     prices paid for goods or services subject to contract can 
     only be determined to be fair and reasonable by duly 
     appointed contracting officers. I can state without 
     reservation that VA has and continues to waste millions of 
     dollars by paying excessive prices for goods and services due 
     to breaches of Federal procurement laws.

  According to reports, the VA has failed to engage in a competitive 
bidding or signing contract process ensuring a good deal for the 
services they are unable to provide in house, such as specialized tests 
and surgeries and other procedures. In fact, the VA has paid at least 
$5 billion in such fees in violation of Federal rules.
  This is yet but another example of what the White House has 
recognized--

[[Page 8706]]

as--and I quote--``corrosive culture'' at the Veterans' Administration. 
I think we all agree our 8.7 million American veterans and our more 
than 130 million taxpayers deserve a lot better. Given the large scale 
of purchases made by the VA, proper procurement procedures ensure the 
best products for veterans and the best value for taxpayers.
  Aside from higher prices, a lack of contracts can result in a lack of 
oversight. The VA, just like Congress, is accountable and must be 
accountable for what it spends. Now, I understand the incredible 
pressure the VA has been under with the recent influx of new veterans. 
I appreciate the good work of many people who work at the VA. Still, no 
matter the growth in need, it is never in order to violate Federal law. 
This kind of reckless spending cannot and must not be tolerated.
  Each year, Congress sends billions of dollars to the VA to care for 
our veterans. With those funds, comes an obligation to use every dollar 
of those funds properly. By simply requiring the VA to comply with 
Federal law, we can save $6 billion. This is a simple fix with large 
results and we should take it.
  Today, I am adding an additional $6 billion to our ever-increasing 
gauge of taxpayer money that comes to Washington and is spent for 
improper and unnecessary purposes. We are now two-thirds of the way to 
our goal of $100 billion. We are going to be doing this every week as 
long as the Senate is in session this year. I hope we have to add an 
additional attachment to this gauge because, folks, there is no end to 
discovering the kind of waste of taxpayers' money for unnecessary 
programs, violating the law, violating regulations, mismanaging the 
spending at the Federal level. We are going to continue to point out 
these issues week after week. Hopefully, we can get the attention of 
our colleagues and the American people, and they will demand that we do 
something about this.
  While we have not been able--no thanks to the administration--to come 
up with a sensible, long-term fix to our deficit spending and 
continuing plunge into debt, we can at least look at these programs 
that have been identified by the inspector generals, by the Government 
Accountability Office, and by the Office of Management and Budget as 
wasting taxpayer dollars.
  So there is much we can do while we are trying to get to the point 
where we have an administration that allows us to address the larger 
issue; that is, a government out of control, spending taxpayers' money 
and wasting money, which we will point out every week. Tune in again 
next week for the next ``Waste of the Week.''
  I thank my colleague from Nebraska for generously yielding me the 
time to do this. I have somewhat of a schedule hitch. She was gracious 
enough to allow me the time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.

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