Congress pushes VA to explain why it regularly overpays veterans and then asks for the money back

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs incorrectly gave veterans about $5 billion more in disability compensation and pension payments than it should have in the last four fiscal years — an error that lawmakers say is recurring and getting worse.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs incorrectly gave veterans about $5 billion more in disability compensation and pension payments than it should have in the last four fiscal years — an error that lawmakers say is recurring and getting worse.

In an oversight hearing Wednesday, the House Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs pressed VA officials to explain how the agency planned to rectify a problem that regularly creates financial nightmares for veterans when they are asked to pay the money back.

“Our veterans live paycheck to paycheck,” said Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, who chairs the subcommittee. “A lot of them are in a deep, dark, black hole.”

Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., said committee staff members visited the VA’s Debt Management Center in February and met veterans who were “confused, angry and even suicidal because they incurred a debt they didn’t know about.”

The VA issued at least $5.1 billion in compensation and pension overpayments from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2024, Luttrell said. The VA said it overpaid nearly $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2024 alone.