November 20, 2013

Committee Criticizes VA Construction Process

Washington, D.C.  – After approving a bill authorizing major medical facility leases for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee held a hearing that examined the VA’s major construction program. Multiple internal and external reviews, including committee hearings, have found serious deficiencies in the management of the VA’s construction program, leading to significant cost increases and substantial delays in the design and construction of medical center projects.

“‘Over budget’ and ‘delayed’ should not be the terms that best describe the VA’s major construction projects. Unfortunately, that’s the most accurate way to characterize them,” said Rep. Mike Michaud (ME-02), Ranking Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “After years of reforms and attempts to fix the problems, VA is still coming up short. While some delays and cost overruns are completely legitimate, this hearing revealed that numerous weaknesses still exist and must be addressed.”

In 2012, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a review of the VA’s management of medical facility construction projects and released the report in April, 2013. GAO found VA’s four largest construction projects, Las Vegas, Orlando, Denver and New Orleans, all had cost increases ranging from 59 percent to 144 percent, representing a total cost increase of nearly $1.5 billion and an average increase of approximately $366 million per project. Additionally, GAO reported schedule delays ranging from 14 to 74 months with an average delay of 35 months per project.