United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2008-07-31 monographic deposited born digital 36 p. GA 1.13:GAO-08-1056T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-1056T P0b002ee180393908 f:d081056t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-1056T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-1056T GAO-08-1056T Budget authority Budget obligations Contract administration Contractors Cost analysis Documentation Federal funds Federal procurement Financial management Funds management Health care facilities Health care services Internal controls Policy evaluation Procurement policy Risk management Standards Strategic planning Veterans benefits Veterans hospitals Cost awareness Cost estimates Policies and procedures Waste, fraud, and abuse Testimony A83183 The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has been using miscellaneous obligations for over 60 years to record estimates of obligations to be incurred at a later time. The large percentage of procurements recorded as miscellaneous obligations in fiscal year 2007 raised questions about whether proper controls were in place over the authorization and use of billions of dollars. GAO's testimony provides preliminary findings related to (1) how VHA used miscellaneous obligations during fiscal year 2007, and (2) whether the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) policies and procedures were designed to provide adequate controls over their authorization and use. GAO recently provided its related draft report to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for review and comment and plans to issue its final report as a follow-up to this testimony. GAO obtained and analyzed available VHA data on miscellaneous obligations, reviewed VA policies and procedures, and reviewed a nongeneralizable sample of 42 miscellaneous obligations at three case study locations. GAO's related draft report includes four recommendations to strengthen internal controls governing the authorization and use of miscellaneous obligations, in compliance with applicable federal appropriations law and internal control standards. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-1056T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-1056T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-1056T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-1056T.pdf GAO-08-1056T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-1056T Testimony GAO-08-1056T; Veterans Health Administration: Improvements Needed in Design of Controls over Miscellaneous Obligations; Budget authority Budget obligations Contract administration Contractors Cost analysis Documentation Federal funds Federal procurement Financial management Funds management Health care facilities Health care services Internal controls Policy evaluation Procurement policy Risk management Standards Strategic planning Veterans benefits Veterans hospitals Cost awareness Cost estimates Policies and procedures Waste, fraud, and abuse Title 38 Part 17.56 38 CFR Part 17.56