VA projects $15B shortfall driven by costs for veterans benefits, prescription drugs and a bigger workforce

The Department of Veterans Affairs is anticipating a $3 billion budget shortfall through fiscal 2024 from an increase in veterans benefits, and a $12 billion spending gap in 2025 driven by higher costs for prescription drugs and the hiring of more workers.

VA chief financial officers from the Veterans Benefits Administration and Veterans Health Administration informed the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Monday of budget shortfalls projected through fiscal 2025.

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., chairman of the House VA Committee, blasted VA Secretary Denis McDonough and other VA leaders on Wednesday, accusing them of mismanaging the VA budget and misleading lawmakers in testimony at budget hearings in the spring.

“This represents by far the largest budget shortfall that VA has experienced under any administration,” Bost said, referring to the total $15 billion. “This is not just fiscal mismanagement. It is strategic whiplash.”