Trump’s Veterans Admin has Problems…..

American’s Support their vet’s….

But?

The loss of money in illegal rippoff’s of the system eclipse’s the boasts of the DOGE savings in just one place by BILLIONS…

Fraudualent Claims….

Military veterans are swamping the U.S. government with dubious disability claims — including cases of brazen fraud totaling tens of millions of dollars — that are exploiting the country’s sacred commitment to compensate those harmed in the line of duty, according to a Washington Post investigation.

Taxpayers will spend roughly $193 billion this year for the Department of Veterans Affairs to compensate about 6.9 million disabled veterans on the presumption that their ability to work is impaired. VA officials say most veterans’ disability claims are legitimate.

In contrast, far fewer veterans receive compensation for certain combat-related injuries. About 10,900 service members who have suffered “severe” or “penetrating” brain injuries since 2000 are eligible for benefits. Fewer than 1,700 receive disability payments for losing limbs during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq….

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The investigation exposed an increasingly costly disability program prone to rampant exaggeration and fraud, which make it harder for veterans with legitimate claims to get their benefits processed. Bipartisan political indifference and a weak array of checks and balances have compounded the dysfunction.

Veterans’ advocates, for-profit companies and VA itself encourage vets to file as many claims as possible to milk the system. The documents and data obtained by The Post spotlighted other obvious signs of waste and abuse, as well as an internal awareness and tolerance of such problems….

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A Post review of 70 fraud prosecutions since 2017 shows VA regularly falls victim to half-baked schemes. In three cases, men who never served a day in uniform fooled the department into thinking they were disabled war heroes; two of them also lied that they were held captive by the enemy, records show.

Since retaking office in January, President Donald Trump has sought to slash spending and root out fraud across the government, dismantling entire agencies in the process. But the White House has promised not to curtail veterans’ benefits, and the U.S. DOGE Service has largely spared VA from the deep cuts it has imposed elsewhere….

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Over the past quarter-century, veterans have flooded VA with an escalating number of claims. In 2001, veterans received benefits for a total of nearly 6 million disabilities. By last year, that figure had risen to 41.7 million, a sevenfold increase.

VA officials and independent analysts note that injuries and wounds from the grinding wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as other overseas military operations, have contributed to the torrent of claims….

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Other public disability programs help only people who certify that they are incapacitated or severely impaired in their ability to work. The Social Security Administration, which provides disability aid to more than 15 million people, limits benefits to those who cannot hold a job or are unable to earn more than $19,440 a year.

The Post’s investigation found that Congress and VA have made it easier to cheat and take advantage of the system….

More…

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Trump’s pick to oversee VA benefits withdraws nomination

President Donald Trump’s pick to oversee veterans benefits delivery has withdrawn her nomination, according to two Senate staffers, granted anonymity to discuss personnel moves that have not yet been made public.

The move leaves the Department of Veterans Affairs without a clear path forward for one of its top leadership posts, charged with overseeing more than $174 billion in payouts for a variety of benefits programs in fiscal 2024. The role has been without a Senate-confirmed undersecretary since January, when Josh Jacobs stepped down at the start of the new administration.