Memphis Standard

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) has joined Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and 12 other Senate colleagues in introducing the Protecting Regular Order (PRO) for Veterans Act. This legislation aims to hold the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) accountable for a nearly $3 billion budget shortfall in the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and a projected $12 billion shortfall in Fiscal Year 2025 for VA medical care.

During a recent Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing, Senator Blackburn questioned VA’s Under Secretary for Benefits Joshua Jacobs and Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal regarding the agency's financial management issues.

"The VA’s budget shortfall that put millions of veterans’ benefits at risk is only the agency’s latest failure to responsibly manage federal funds under the Biden-Harris administration’s leadership, and it proves the VA needs to be subject to greater accountability and oversight," said Senator Blackburn. "This legislation would require the VA to provide regular, in-person budget reports to Congress to ensure they are properly managing taxpayer dollars."

The PRO for Veterans Act proposes a three-year requirement for the VA to submit quarterly in-person budget reports to Congress. This measure is intended to enhance legislative oversight and accountability of the VA's financial management.

Earlier this year, a watchdog report found that the VA improperly awarded $10.8 million in bonuses to senior executives at its central office. The proposed legislation includes provisions that would restrict bonuses for Senior Executive Service (SES) employees in cases of budget shortfalls outside of regular order.

The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).