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Filner: VA finds problems but cannot fix them

The Veterans Affairs Department is good at finding waste and inefficiency, but it could be faster to take action to fix these problems, according to testimony at a Wednesday congressional oversight hearing.

Since October, the VA inspector general has issued 120 reports containing 232 recommendations for saving $673 million, said Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., the House Veterans Affairs Committee chairman. That is good news, he said, showing the VA IG is doing “high-quality” and “essential” work.

However, VA has 124 open reports with a combined 756 recommendations, including 16 reports with 45 recommendations that are more than one year old, said Richard Griffin, the VA’s deputy inspector general. The oldest open report dates back to Sept. 30, 2005, he said.

“The monetary benefit yet to be realized by these recommendations going unimplemented approaches $100 million,” Filner said.

Filner and other committee members said delays need to be minimized, especially at a time when governmentwide cost cutting is underway. “During the country’s difficult financial time brought on by the recession, the VA must realize cost savings anywhere practical,” he said. Savings from eliminating waste and inefficiency could reduce pressure to cut programs, he said.

Dr. Robert Petzel, VA undersecretary for health, said the inspector general is considered “our partner” rather than an adversary, and VA “is committed to doing everything possible to ensure that it is delivering the best possible service to our veterans.”

One of those old and open IG reports, issued July 2008, involved transition help for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Among other things, the report recommended using Defense Department information to send letters to new veterans to inform them of available services, something Petzel said should be resolved in September after problems with data transfer between the two departments are resolved.

The 2008 report also recommended special outreach to veterans who lack a high school diploma. Petzel offered no prediction when this could be done, citing difficulty getting accurate information from military records about who did not graduate from high school.

Griffin said in many cases, when inspectors find problems there are immediate changes. “On many occasions, the VA takes action while we are onsite,” Griffin said.