PASSED THE SENATE: Senators Hassan and Boozman’s Bipartisan Bill to Prevent Waste, Fraud, and Abuse at the VA

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan bill led by Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and John Boozman (R-AR) to require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to permanently provide mandatory training to employees on reporting waste, fraud, and abuse. This training would be in coordination with the VA Office of the Inspector General (VA OIG), which serves veterans and the public by conducting meaningful independent oversight of the VA.

Prior to Senators Hassan and Boozman’s efforts, the VA had a voluntary 45-minute VA OIG training to employees that teaches the skills to spot the early indicators of fraud and other potential crimes – this training helps to support veterans’ care and protect taxpayer dollars at the VA. Following Senators Hassan and Boozman introducing the bill and working with the VA OIG on it, the VA made this training mandatory. The Senators’ bill would enshrine this new VA policy in law.

“Veterans have made tremendous sacrifices for our freedoms and deserve the best care from the VA, which is why we must safeguard against any abuse of federal resources that should go toward helping veterans,” said Senator Hassan. “Our commonsense bill would help prevent wrongdoing at the VA by ensuring that all VA employees attend a simple training to spot the signs of waste, fraud, and abuse. Caring for our veterans should never be a partisan issue, and I will continue working across the aisle with my colleagues to deliver for our veterans.”

“An important step to fulfilling the promise we made to the men and women who wore our nation’s uniform is ensuring the VA is effective, transparent and accountable. Empowering VA employees with the tools to identify and report wrongdoing will help safeguard the benefits veterans earned. I urge the House of Representatives to pass this bill so we can strengthen the services veterans rely on,” said Senator Boozman, a senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

Senator Hassan is leading bipartisan efforts to strengthen support for veterans. Senator Hassan helped develop and pass into law the PACT Act, which fundamentally reforms and improves how veterans exposed to toxic substances receive health care and benefits from the VA. The President previously signed into law Senator Hassan’s bipartisan Hire Veteran Health Heroes Act of 2021 to direct the VA to create a program to recruit military medical personnel who have less than one year left in their service to work at the VA. Last fall, President Biden also signed into law bipartisan legislation introduced by Senator Hassan to strengthen the Solid Start program, through which VA employees contact every veteran three times by phone in the first year after veterans leave active duty service to check in and help connect these new veterans to VA programs and benefits. Additionally, the year-end government funding bill that was signed into law in December 2022 included Senator Hassan’s bipartisan legislation that directs the VA to designate one week per year as “Buddy Check Week” to organize outreach events and educate veterans on how to conduct peer wellness checks.

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