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Review of the Enhanced Use Lease between the Department of Veterans Affairs and Veterans Development, LLC

Report Information

Issue Date
Report Number
12-00375-290
VISN
State
Ohio
District
VA Office
Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
General Counsel (OGC)
Office of Management (OM)
Report Author
Office of Audits and Evaluations
Report Type
Audit
Recommendations
9
Questioned Costs
$0
Better Use of Funds
$0
Congressionally Mandated
No

Summary

Summary
VA Management inappropriately used VA's Enhanced Use Lease authority to procure office space, parking, and domiciliary services at the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center. The space and services procured through the Enhanced Use Lease with Veterans Development, LLC significantly exceeded any in-kind consideration for the Brecksville campus. By using VA's Enhanced Use Lease authority, VA Management was able to circumvent the normal rules and processes for procuring space and services, including healthcare services. This eliminated competition and caused VA to overpay for space and services and caused an increase risk in security. VA Management largely disagreed with our findings; however, our review of their response found it to be unsupported and unresponsive to our concerns and findings.

Open Recommendation Image, SquareOpenClosed and Implemented Recommendation Image, CheckmarkClosed-ImplementedNot Implemented Recommendation Image, X character'Closed-Not Implemented
No. 1
Not Implemented Recommendation Image, X character'
to Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
We recommend that the Under Secretary for Health develop a long range plan that addresses the significant space shortages at Wade Park caused by the EUL for the Brecksville division.
No. 2
Closed and Implemented Recommendation Image, Checkmark
to Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
We recommend that the Under Secretary for Health in coordination with the VAMC Cleveland Director, ensure the VAMC employees comply with the Privacy Act and other confidentiality statutes such as HIPAA and 38 U.S.C. § 7332, VHA Handbooks, and the Cleveland VAMC privacy policies, by appropriately safeguarding VA employees' PII and veterans' PHI.
No. 3
Closed and Implemented Recommendation Image, Checkmark
to Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
We recommend that the Under Secretary for Health in coordination with the VAMC Cleveland Director, ensure the VAMC employees receive training on records management and the provisions of applicable Records Management Retention schedules.
No. 4
Closed and Implemented Recommendation Image, Checkmark
to Office of Management (OM),General Counsel (OGC)
We recommend that the Executive in Charge for the Office of Management and Chief Financial Officer and VA’s General Counsel convene an independent group to determine the appropriateness and the legal sufficiency of the Brecksville EUL and service agreements contained in the EUL, particularly in light of the indictment of Michael Forlani and the suspension of VetDev and other entities identified in the indictment, and take appropriate action to include long and short term plans, including the renegotiation of the terms and conditions of the agreements for the administration building and the parking garage.
No. 5
Closed and Implemented Recommendation Image, Checkmark
to Office of Management (OM),General Counsel (OGC)
We recommend that the Executive in Charge for the Office of Management and Chief Financial Officer and VA’s General Counsel make a referral to the VA’s Procurement Executive for a determination whether any of the service agreements constitute an unauthorized commitment and, if so, take appropriate action to rectify the problem.
No. 6
Closed and Implemented Recommendation Image, Checkmark
to General Counsel (OGC),Office of Management (OM)
We recommend that the Executive in Charge for the Office of Management and Chief Financial Officer and VA’s General Counsel immediately determine what services VOA is actually performing and which services VA employees are performing and what services, if any, VA needs from VOA. Consideration should be given to simply leasing the existing space, with VA employees providing all the services, or relocating the domiciliary.
No. 7
Closed and Implemented Recommendation Image, Checkmark
to Office of Management (OM),General Counsel (OGC)
We recommend that the Executive in Charge for the Office of Management and Chief Financial Officer and VA's General Counsel issue a bill of collection to VetDev to recoup the VA determined value of the overbilling relating to the failure to provide security services.
No. 8
Closed and Implemented Recommendation Image, Checkmark
to Office of Management (OM)
We recommend that the Executive in Charge for the Office of Management and Chief Financial Officer take immediate steps to identify the security requirements for the administration building, parking, and domiciliary space and develop a plan of action to ensure the safety and security of VA employees, veterans, and their families.
No. 9
Closed and Implemented Recommendation Image, Checkmark
to Veterans Health Administration (VHA),Office of Management (OM),General Counsel (OGC)
We recommend that the Under Secretary for Health, the Executive in Charge for the Office of Management and Chief Financial Officer, and VA's General Counsel do not execute any amendments to the current EUL or the service agreements to add additional space or services without review and approval by an independent third party. We recommend that any additional requirements for space by the Wade Park VAMC be reviewed and approved in advance by VHA's Chief Procurement Executive to ensure the legitimacy of the requirements, including the area of consideration.