Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Opens Agency Up to A-76 Studies; First Study Estimated $300 Mil.

Yesterday, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee considered several amendments to the Veterans Health Care Act of 2005 (S. 1182) at a markup in Washington, DC.  Most notable was an amendment offered by Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Ranking Member on the committee, which would preserve the prohibition on cost comparison studies at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA).  Akaka’s amendment failed on a 7-7 tie vote.  A majority was needed for the amendment to be approved.  After amendments were considered, the bill was approved by voice vote.

In section 7 of the bill, there is language that would remove a section of title 38 prohibiting cost studies at the VA.  Amending title 38 in this fashion would be a first step in opening the entire VA, more than 160,000 employees, to A-76 cost studies.  This is an objective long sought after by the Bush administration.

The privatization issue was debated at length by members of the committee.  Chairman Larry Craig (R-ID) spoke in favor of the cost comparison language in the bill, emphasizing efficiencies that cost studies can create.  Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ken Salazar (D-CO), and James Jeffords (I-VT) spoke in favor of Akaka’s amendment to remove the cost comparison language; contesting funds that could be used for an A-76 study would be better spent providing service to veterans. 

“Should it remain in the bill, I will oppose the entire bill,” declared Murray.

The Bush administration has already targeted 51,000 VA jobs for privatization in the first VA cost comparison study, even though in-house agencies win about 90 percent of cost studies, and over half the employees among the first to be studied are veterans.  The estimated cost of the first planned study is $300 million.