Interior Alaska News

U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, representing Alaska and a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, has introduced new legislation aimed at increasing accountability within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This move comes in response to a significant budget mismanagement incident in 2024, where the VA experienced a multi-billion-dollar shortfall followed by a surplus shortly after. The mismanagement led to $10 million in bonuses being improperly awarded to senior management.

The proposed Protecting Regular Order (PRO) for Veterans Act seeks to enforce stricter oversight by requiring the VA to present quarterly, in-person budget reports to Congress over three years. Additionally, it aims to withhold bonuses from senior VA and Office of Management and Budget personnel if future financial discrepancies occur.

Senator Sullivan expressed his concerns about the situation: “Last year, we witnessed a shocking budget debacle, with the VA saying veterans’ hard-earned benefits were in peril if the VA didn’t immediately receive billions of dollars in additional funds—only to find out weeks later that no such shortfall exists.” He emphasized the need for accountability and urged his colleagues to support measures that would ensure responsible leadership at the VA.

The legislation is supported by Senators Marsha Blackburn, Ted Budd, Steve Daines, Chuck Grassley, Roger Marshall, Lisa Murkowski, Pete Ricketts, Rick Scott, Tommy Tuberville, and Roger Wicker.