WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, who serves as the Chair of Oversight and Investigations for the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, released the following statement in response to VA’s plan to address deficiencies in acquisition management identified by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) as part of its High-Risk List.

In March, GAO released its High-Risk List report describing programs and operations that are deemed to be at ‘high risk’ due to their vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, or that need major transformation. GAO’s latest report shows VA has three high-risk areas, including VA supply chain issues.

To ensure these supply chain issues do not harm the quality of care veterans are receiving, Chairman Pappas sent a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough urging that VA finalize and provide its action plan to address known deficiencies. Pappas also asked for a commitment from VA’s Acting Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Support, Deborah Kramer, to deliver the Department’s plan at a subcommittee hearing on supply chain issues last month. VA provided its action plan in early April.

“Although VA is beginning to fix its long standing supply problem, this plan fails to outline specific, measurable goals or designate what offices will be held accountable if these long standing issues continue to go unresolved,” said Congressman Pappas. “Our veterans deserve nothing but the best, and I will continue working with VA and my colleagues in Congress to develop a concrete plan to ensure VA can provide that top notch care.”

Newsletter