Frye says the department has been spending at least $6 billion annually in violation of federal contracting rules. Here are nine major points from his memo:
1. From the document:
What he’s saying: Frye says veterans are at risk if the government does not have contracts for private medical care and something goes wrong.
2. From the document:
What he’s saying: VA is spending billions of dollars a year on medical care and supplies without contracts, but the public has no way to see how taxpayers’ money is being spent, Frye says.
3. From the document:
What he’s saying: Top VA officials are ignoring the large discrepancy between authorized spending on medical care and supplies and spending that is done improperly, Frye says.
4. From the document:
What he’s saying: VA has failed to hold anyone accountable for the improprieties he cites, or put contracts in place once officials realized they weren’t negotiated properly, Frye says.
5. From the document:
What he’s saying: Frye says senior VA leaders must be held accountable for the problems with purchase cards he cites.
6. From the document:
What he’s saying: Frye says he analyzed purchase card data from the Veterans Health Administration and found improprieties.
7. From the document:
What he’s saying: The purchase card program lacks oversight, Frye says.
8. From the document:
What he’s saying: Frye says he has learned from the National Acquisition Center that employees at the Veterans Health Administration are buying thousands of medical supplies in off-the-shelf transactions, without competition.
9. From the document:
What he’s saying: Frye tells McDonald that reforming VA will be challenging unless basic contracting problems are addressed.