Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., is calling for an immediate moratorium on art purchases made by the Department of Veterans Affairs. An investigation found the VA spent $20 million on high-end art over the last decade, all while veterans died waiting for VA care and senior VA officials claimed to be under-staffed and under-funded.
“I question the priorities of the VA for art purchases while veterans wait for care and call on you to block further spending on art by the VA and formalize processes which include using artwork by veterans instead,” Kirk wrote in a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald.
“Please respond with confirmation of a moratorium on art spending by the VA and outline the specific approval process which has been used for purchasing artwork with taxpayer dollars, including who has the authority to advance spending millions of dollars on art instead of veterans.”
Kirk chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies.
“The VA continues to spend irrationally on decorations instead of on care for our veterans, like $21,500 for a 27-foot artificial Christmas tree in Chillicothe, Ohio,” Kirk wrote in defense of his desired moratorium.
He also listed nearly $1.3 million spent on a giant rock sculpture at a VA facility in Palo Alto, Calif., $500 each spent on 62 photos at a San Francisco facility and $100,000 spent on a glass sculpture for an outpatient center in Anchorage, Alaska.
To read the full text of Kirk’s letter, click here.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
