WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs is improperly spending at least $5 billion a year for medical care and supplies being purchased in violation of required practices for competitive bidding and written contracts, a senior VA official said Thursday.
“Gross mismanagement” by senior agency leaders has wasted billions of dollars and made a “mockery” of federal laws regarding purchasing of goods and services, said Jan Frye, deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and logistics.
Illegal purchases have been made for pharmaceutical drugs and medical supplies, putting veterans at risk and exposing the agency to widespread “fraud, waste and abuse,” Frye said.
“I can state without reservation that VA has and continues to waste millions of dollars by paying excessive prices for goods and services due to breaches of federal laws,” Frye told the House Veterans Affairs subcommittee on oversight and investigations.