Veteran Affairs: Acquisition Reorganization Should Reflect Leading Practices

What GAO Found

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has long encountered challenges in executing and managing its acquisitions. For example, a 2015 independent review identified VA's supply chain management as unduly complex and duplicative. VA acquisition management has been on GAO's High Risk List since 2019 because of challenges such as inconsistent leadership and lack of strategic planning. While subsequent high-risk updates have noted meaningful progress, GAO continues to find persistent challenges with VA's acquisition.

VA's current acquisition workforce is large and decentralized. While most contracting officials are in VA's operating administrations, primarily the Veterans Health Administration, others are located in offices across the department. The Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction oversees four department-level contracting organizations, but acquisition is dispersed among multiple levels across the agency. As of November 2025, VA's acquisition workforce consisted of 2,658 contracting officials, spread across numerous organizations.

Number of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Veterans Affairs Contracting Officials (as of November 2025)

VA and its administrations have taken steps in recent years to reorganize some aspects of its acquisition function. However, these efforts were relatively modest and did not collectively address the persistent fundamental challenges GAO has found in the past, such as managing its acquisition workforce and supply chain.

Between April and November 2025, VA has reduced its contracting staff by approximately 15 percent and taken some initial steps toward reorganization. For example, in November 2025, VA announced that it plans to realign all procurement offices under a centralized structure at the department-level. However, as of February 2026, VA had yet to develop a full, broader plan that addresses all elements for the reorganization of its acquisition function, which remain under review, according to officials.

Major reforms can be challenging and applying selected leading practices for agency reform would improve VA's chances of success in its reorganization effort. GAO identified the following five leading practices that could help VA ensure the reorganization's success: establishing goals and outcomes, involving key stakeholders and employees in developing reforms, managing and monitoring progress, conducting strategic workforce planning, and strengthening employee engagement during proposed reforms. Applying our leading practices for agency reform in planning, executing, and monitoring outcomes would allow VA to more effectively purchase the goods and services needed care to the nation's veterans.

Why GAO Did This Study

VA manages one of the largest acquisition enterprises in the federal government-obligating tens of billions annually on health care, IT, construction, and benefits delivery. VA acquisition management has been on GAO's High-Risk List since 2019 due to management challenges in the areas of developing adequate strategies and policies, managing its supply chain, managing its acquisition workforce, and providing consistent leadership and execution of acquisition management priorities.

GAO was asked to examine VA's acquisition organizational structure as the agency begins reorganizing. This report discusses acquisition management challenges that GAO has identified from previous work and identifies selected leading practices for agency reform to consider as VA reorganizes its acquisition function.

For this report, GAO reviewed VA documentation and interviewed acquisition officials.