The VA is Spending Millions to Keep Abandoned Buildings

September 3, 2010 - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has around 300 buildings that are vacant and no longer in use. Many of these buildings are in various states of disrepair and some are even to the point where they have been declared health hazards. Yet, every year the VA will spend tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to maintain those buildings.

So how much does the VA spend to maintain these buildings? That depends on who you ask. Since 2007, the VA has spent $175 million every year, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The VA's figures are much lower. According to the VA, they spent $85 million in 2007 and only $37 million last year. Both entities use different methods to get to their final numbers.

The VA is facing something they have never faced before, and soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are going to require VA health care, psychological care, and other related services at a level and expense without precedent. Even if the VA's maintenance numbers are correct, that is a lot of money spent on vacant, hazardous buildings that could instead be going towards our troops.

Many solutions have been suggested ranging from renovating the buildings to outright selling them to demolishing them. The VA cannot however, just up and sell these buildings. There are a myriad of restrictive lease agreements and federal regulations preventing the outright sale of buildings, assuming there was eve an interested buyer in the first place. The presence of hazardous materials in many buildings, and according to the VA lack of funds, also prevents demolition.

The VA stresses they are doing everything they can to rid themselves of unused buildings while providing top service to veterans. In the end, it all comes down to money and the VA seems to think they are on the right track with their spending.