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VA Philippines Office: Maintain Operations, but More Information Needed to Determine Future Presence

GAO-12-20R Published: Oct 27, 2011. Publicly Released: Oct 27, 2011.
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Highlights

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) operates a regional office in the Republic of the Philippines--the only one of its 57 regional offices that is located in a foreign country. Over the last two decades, Congress has periodically reauthorized the office for an average of 3 years each time. The Philippines was a U.S. territory prior to World War II and was granted independence in 1946. Congress authorized limited benefits for Filipino veterans who served under the command of the United States during the war, and authorized VA to operate a regional office to administer these benefits. In 1958, the office expanded to include an outpatient health clinic. VA estimates that about 18,000 Filipino WWII veterans were alive as of 2010, down from an estimated 452,000 in 1977. In light of this declining population eligible for benefits, maintaining the office may no longer be warranted at some point. Public Law 111-275 extended the authority for VA to operate this office until December 31, 2011, and directed GAO to submit this report. Our objectives are to (1) describe the primary activities undertaken by the VA regional office in the Philippines, and (2) identify the estimated costs and benefits of maintaining this office in its current location versus moving its activities to the U.S.

Recommendations

Matter for Congressional Consideration

Matter Status Comments
Congress may wish to consider extending authority for the Philippines office, but require VA to assess and report to Congress on the feasibility of maintaining a future presence in the Philippines. In conducting this analysis, VA should be required to consult with SSA and State to develop and use information on the potential future workload of the office based on the projected number of Filipino WWII veterans, U.S. veterans, and dependents in the Philippines; the costs and benefits of alternative ways to provide services to veterans in the Philippines, such as delivering medical services through the Foreign Medical Program and providing some services from the United States while maintaining fraud investigation staff in the Philippines; and the foreign policy implications of maintaining or closing the VA office in the Philippines.
Closed – Not Implemented
Congress considered reauthorizing the VA Philippines Office but did not require VA to report on its feasibility.

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Topics

Cost analysisDependentsDisability benefitsForeign governmentsFraudHealth care servicesVeteransVeterans benefitsVeterans disability compensationVeterans pensionsOperations and maintenance costsCost estimates