The VA's Budget Games: How Systemic Government Waste Is Failing Our Veterans

The VA's Budget Games: How Government Waste Is Failing Our Veterans

Recent reports have surfaced about 182 senior executives at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pocketing almost $11 million in bonuses while veteran suicide rates remain unchanged, if not worsening. This revelation is not just a scandal; it’s confirmation of what many of us have suspected all along—the government’s budgeting system incentivizes waste, mismanagement, and reckless spending over real solutions for those who need help the most.

The Broken Budget System

Government agencies, including the VA, follow a budget system where funds are apportioned and allocated to various programs—think of it like broad categories such as medical care, operations, salaries, and specific initiatives like Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. Here's a simplified breakdown of how it typically works:

1. First Half of the Year: Agencies are told to be “judicious” in spending.

2. Next Three Months: Spending picks up.

3. Final Three Months: Any money left over they know they won't or don't have to spend gets reallocated to avoid future budget cuts.

The problem? If the full budget isn’t spent, next year’s allocation is reduced. This creates a perverse incentive where agencies tighten their belts early on but then scramble to spend recklessly in the final months—often on whatever they want rather than on what’s needed.

What Does This Mean for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention?

Let’s be clear: Since 2006, the VA’s budget for mental health and suicide prevention has skyrocketed nearly ninefold—rising from $2.4 billion to $17 billion in 2025. Yet, despite this massive increase in funding, veteran suicide rates have not declined. Why? Because instead of ensuring these funds are used to enhance mental health services, they are frequently reallocated at the end of the fiscal year to cover non-essential expenses—including office furniture, televisions, gym equipment, and even executive bonuses. This pattern of wasteful spending prioritizes bureaucratic comforts over the urgent needs of veterans, leaving critical programs underfunded while lives remain at risk.

Rather than ensuring veterans receive timely and effective mental health care, VA leadership is playing a numbers game with taxpayer dollars. This is why, despite increased funding, over 40 veterans die by suicide every day—both intentional and unintentional, the latter including overdoses from self-medicating due to untreated mental health conditions.

Fake Appointments, Fake Care

To make matters worse, another scandal has emerged: reports indicate that VA facilities have been creating appointments for veterans without informing them, only to cancel them later. This artificially inflates the appearance of productivity and efficiency, while in reality, veterans are being left without the care they desperately need. The result? A bureaucratic shell game that leaves those who served our country stranded in a failing system.

The Real Cost of Government Waste

Every wasted dollar is a missed opportunity to save a life. The VA’s reckless spending habits and budget manipulation are not just bureaucratic failures—they are a direct betrayal of the men and women who served our country. Until accountability is enforced and funds are spent on actual veteran care rather than bonuses and office upgrades, the tragic cycle of veteran suicides will continue.

Time for Change

It’s time for the public to demand transparency, accountability, and real reform in how the VA allocates and spends its budget. We must push for:

• Independent audits of all VA programs, especially Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.

• A stop to year-end budget reallocations that divert funds away from critical services.

• Criminal investigations into fraudulent scheduling practices and bonus payouts.

Our veterans deserve better. They fought for us—now it’s time we fight for them.

NOTE: Advocacy is a core pillar of the Two Black Ravens Foundation. We shine a light on critical issues and push for real solutions, cutting through bureaucratic red tape that hinders all veterans and service members—whether they are part of our programs or not. Your support does more than aid in their healing; it helps us fight for the benefits they have rightfully earned.