Construction mismanagement costs VA billions

The Veterans Affairs department, due to mistakes and mismanagement, has had more than $1.5 billion in construction cost overruns, along with delays and other problems, according to a report in Army Times. As a result, hospitals under construction are behind schedule and over budget. In at least one case, a contracting company has stopped work on a project due to cost overruns and trouble getting paid.

On Jan. 21, VA officials assured lawmakers that they are finishing the overdue projects and solving the problems that led to them, but members of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee were critical.

"It is long past time for these projects, marred by bureaucratic ineptitude, to be complete," said committee chairman Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla.

Deputy VA Secretary Sloan Gibson told the panel that major reforms to the department's facility management have already been put in place.

Read the full story at ArmyTimes.com.

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