VA Budget Shortfall Accountability Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The VA Budget Shortfall Accountability Act directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate funding shortfalls at the Department of Veterans Affairs — specifically the Veterans Benefits Administration’s fiscal year 2024 shortfall and the Veterans Health Administration’s expected fiscal year 2025 shortfall. It then requires GAO to conduct follow-up annual budget reviews for five additional years, with all reports forwarded to Congress.
Who Benefits and How
Congressional Veterans’ Affairs and Appropriations committees gain independent, expert analysis of VA budget management problems, equipping them with evidence to hold the VA accountable. Veterans indirectly benefit if increased scrutiny leads to better budget management and prevents service disruptions caused by funding gaps.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Government Accountability Office must conduct six comprehensive budget reviews over six years, analyzing monthly spending against plans, account transfers, and budget projection accuracy. The Department of Veterans Affairs must cooperate with GAO reviews, provide requested data, and forward completed reports to four congressional committees within 30 days.
Key Provisions
- Requires GAO to begin a review within 30 days of enactment into VBA's fiscal year 2024 shortfall and VHA's expected fiscal year 2025 shortfall.
- Directs GAO to examine monthly spending against VA budget plans, account transfers, diversions, projection accuracy, and remedial actions.
- Requires GAO to recommend actions to improve VA budget accuracy and prevent future shortfalls.
- Extends oversight by requiring annual GAO reviews of VA funding for five additional calendar years.
- Requires the VA Secretary to transmit each GAO report to Veterans' Affairs and Appropriations Committees within 30 days of receipt.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires GAO to investigate VA funding shortfalls and conduct annual budget reviews for five years, with mandatory reporting to Congress
Key Policy Areas
Veterans Affairs, Government Oversight, Budget & Appropriations
Primary Purpose
Requires GAO to investigate VA funding shortfalls and conduct annual budget reviews for five years, with mandatory reporting to Congress
Policy Domains
VA Budget Shortfall Accountability Act
Identified Gains
- House Veterans' Affairs Committee
- Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee
- House Appropriations Committee
- Veterans receiving VA health care
Identified Costs
- Government Accountability Office
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Veterans Health Administration
- Veterans Benefits Administration
Sponsors
Jack Bergman
R-MI | Primary Sponsor
Legislative Progress
Signed into LawBecame Public Law No: 119-71.
Signed by President.
Presented to President.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous …
Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S8895)
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' …
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Congress, Congressional Veterans' Affairs Committees, Department of Veterans Affairs
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- "the_comptroller_general"
- → Comptroller General of the United States (GAO)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Establishes a multi-year framework of GAO reviews and congressional reporting on VA budget shortfalls, covering initial investigations of VBA FY2024 and VHA FY2025 shortfalls, five years of subsequent annual reviews, and mandatory forwarding of findings to congressional committees.
This Act is officially named the VA Budget Shortfall Accountability Act.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology