House Veterans' Subcommittee presses VA on billions in improper compensation and pension payments

Chairman Littrell convened a House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee hearing to examine the Department of Veterans Affairs' efforts to reduce improper payments in compensation and pension programs and pressed VA and Office of Inspector General witnesses for concrete fixes.

The subcommittee heard the VA and its inspector general describe several causes of improper payments — including incorrect assignment of effective dates for awards, limits in automated tools, training that the OIG called rushed, and data-matching gaps — and several steps the department says it has taken to address them.

The issue matters because of scale: lawmakers cited multibillion-dollar totals and personal harm to veterans. “We must ensure the VA is a responsible steward of the taxpayer's investments,” Chairman Littrell said in opening remarks, and witnesses said errors can create debts that veterans must repay.

The Office of the Inspector General told the panel its audits have repeatedly identified incorrect effective dates as a major source of improper payments and that a recent review found 24 percent of sampled PACT Act cases had incorrect effective dates, producing $6.8 million in improper payments in the sample and projecting roughly $20 million by August 2025 if trends continue. Deputy Assistant Inspector General Brent Arante told members that the PACT Act’s expansion of presumptive conditions and service locations increased the number of…