Should the VA Report to Congress on its Use of COVID-19 Emergency Funding? (H.R. 2911)

What is H.R. 2911?

(Updated November 28, 2021)

This bill was enacted on November 22, 2021

This bill, the VA Transparency & Trust Act of 2021, would require the Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report to Congress on how the agency has spent the tens of billions of dollars in emergency funding allocated to it during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The VA would be required to give this information to Congress on a regular basis. Additionally, the VA Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) would be required to audit and publicly report on the agency’s emergency relief spending.

Argument in favor

Requiring the VA to report to Congress is an important means of ensuring that the agency is held accountable for its spending. Ensuring accountability and transparency is more important than ever, given that the VA has received over $300 billion in emergency funding during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Argument opposed

The VA, like many other government agencies, is busy responding to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although transparency and accountability are important, now is not the time to add to federal agencies’ administrative burdens while they are still working with reduced office staff and increased responsibilities amidst the ongoing public health crisis.

Impact

Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA); Government Accountability Office (GAO); Congress; and the VA Inspector General.

Cost of H.R. 2911

The CBO estimates that this bill would cost two million to implement over the 2021-2026 period.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) introduced this bill to require the Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report to Congress on how it spent tens of billions of dollars of emergency funding received during the COVID-19 pandemic:

“No matter how worthy the cause, taxpayers deserve to know how their hard-earned money is spent. Congress has given VA tens of billions of dollars to respond to COVID-19 on top of the hundreds of billions of dollars that make up VA’s regular budget. We have gotten very little information in return about how that money will be spent. This bill will fix that. It is supported by my friends and colleagues from both sides of the aisle and both sides of the Capitol as well as by VA. Hopefully we can get it to the President’s desk quickly.”

This legislation passed the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee by a 22-6 vote with the support of five bipartisan House cosponsors, including four Democrats and one Republican.

Of Note: In FY2021, Congress gave the VA $243.3 billion in funding. This represents the agency’s largest-ever base budget. In addition to this, Congress gave the VA $36.63 billion dollars in emergency relief funding to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. That includes:

• $30 million from the Families First Coronavirus Response Act,
  
• $19.6 billion from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and
  
• $17 billion from the American Rescue Plan.
  

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) Press Release
  
• CBO Cost Estimate
  
• House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Bill Summary