Pursuit's Take
The Judgement Fund is an appropriation used to pay judgments and settlements on behalf of Federal agencies. The Judgment Fund must be reimbursed by the agency who used its funds, and when the Treasury requests reimbursement, that agency has 45 days to repay the Judgement Fund.
During the years 2011-2016, the VA used the Judgement Fund to pay for major construction claims related to 10 major construction projects. However, the VA has failed to fully reimburse the Judgement fund, totaling over $226 million in delinquent payments. According to OIG, “the payments made on VA’s behalf totaled $247,748,686, but VA reimbursed the Judgment Fund only $21,420,264.” In addition, the VA’s average delinquency was over 200 days.
The OIG considers the delinquent payments to be “significant liabilities,” and will require significant funding from Congress to satisfy its debts. However, the VA’s Congressional submission only requested $9 million to reimburse the Judgement Fund, saying it was a lower priority than other needs.
The VA's Delinquent Use of The Judgement Fund