House Committee on Veterans' Affairs

Washington, D.C. - On Thursday, July 30, 2009, Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Chairwoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) conducted a hearing to review the National Acquisition Strategy (NAS) utilized by the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) program at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  The NAS was implemented on July 21, 2008, to supplement VA services for employment counseling for veterans.  The NAS authorized VR&E to set up a one-year contract with private vendors, with the option to extend the contracts on a yearly basis.  VA recently revealed that it will not exercise its one-year contract renewal option and will unveil an updated strategy in early 2010. 

“Today, we were able to obtain valuable feedback from prime contractors and stakeholders regarding areas of concern and their recommendations to improve VA’s National Acquisition Strategy for counseling services,” said Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin. “This Subcommittee will address the number of complaints directed toward the VA from prime contractors tasked with providing counseling services to veterans.  Our goal is to provide timely services for veterans working to achieve their employment goals, and we must address the pitfalls facing this contracting strategy.” 

VR&E services include job coaching, computer skill tutorials, self employment business evaluations, and placement services.  The goal of the NAS was to streamline services, standardize the contracting process, increase access, and supplement services in a timely manner.  Vendors reported irregularities in the new process including improper referral of cases, regional inconsistencies, delays in payments, and lack of standardized forms.

“The contracting policies in use for the VR&E program are a cause for alarm,” said Bob Filner, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.  “As a country at war, veterans are returning to a troubled job market and a contracted economy.  Our veterans do not have the luxury of time to wait for the VA to get this right.  I would like to thank Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin for her leadership as she works to understand the current concerns to prevent the same pitfalls as the VA works to craft an effective national strategy.”   

Witness List

Panel 1

• Patrick F. Chorpenning, President and Chief Executive Officer, Heritage of America, LLC
• Anthony Tarkowski, President, Sygnetics, Inc.

Panel 2

• Richard Daley, Associate Legislative Director, Paralyzed Veterans of America
• Joe Wynn, Treasurer, Executive Committee, Veterans Entrepreneurship Task Force

Panel 3

• Ruth Fanning, Director, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Accompanied by:

• C. Ford Heard, Executive Director, Center for Acquisition Innovation, Office of Acquisitions and Logistics, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• Philip S. Kauffman, Attorney, Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Prepared testimony and a link to a recording of the hearing are available on the internet at this link: http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?newsid=455