VA watchdog: 435 contracts worth about $1.1 billion were cut at DOGE's urging, and the data VA sent Congress contained errors.

Friends, Scripture tells us to let our yes be yes and our no be no. It's a fine rule for numbers sent to Congress. The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General issued a report on Tuesday, Sept. 22, reviewing contracts VA ended last year as "terminated for convenience," Military.com reports. The Department of Government Efficiency had encouraged the cuts. The OIG determined that VA terminated 435 contracts for convenience, valued at approximately $1.1 billion, out of 2,210 contracts it reviewed. The remaining 1,775 contract actions were reinstated or never terminated. Now the part worth a second look: the OIG found errors in the data VA submitted to Congress in May and July 2025. VA sent Congress an updated list with improved clarity in April 2026. The review was requested by Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, and Sen. Angus King of Maine, who raised concerns about the use of artificial intelligence and algorithms in the decisions, the input of career experts, and plans to replace canceled services. VA says the report vindicates it. "The IG report simply confirms what we've said from the beginning: VA terminated hundreds of wasteful and duplicative contracts, saving the department more than $1 billion," spokesperson Quinn Slaven told Military.com, adding that the cancellations "had no negative impact whatsoever on VA care and benefits." For scale, VA obligated $78.3 billion for contracts in fiscal year 2025. Nobody gets to point across the aisle on this one. If you cheer the cuts, you should want the savings counted right. If you fear them, you should want to know exactly what was cut. Friends, publish the corrected list in plain view, show what replaced each canceled service, and let the veterans who depend on it judge the results.