Page 8 - Mobility Management, October/November 2019

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Congressman Sends Letter About Late Dealer Payments to VBA
A member of Congress has sent a letter to the Veterans Business Administration (VBA) to inquire about chron- ically late payments to mobility dealers.
In a Sept. 20 letter, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) wrote to Paul R. Lawrence, Under Secretary for Benefits at the VBA in Washington, D.C. The letter included a spread- sheet of past-due invoices.
“I am concerned,” Gallego wrote, “about delayed reimbursement from the VBA to vendors that perform VA-authorized sales, installations, repairs and mainte- nance of automobiles and automobile adaptive equip- ment for disabled veterans. These automobiles and equipment are integral to the health and well-being of veterans, and the VA has an obligation to ensure that the third-party vendors that provide these products and services are promptly paid.”
Gallego added that while mobility dealers “provide
these products and services and submit pre-authorized and complete invoices, VBA does not have a history
of reimbursing dealers in a timely manner, if at all.” He referred to a June 2015 Veterans Affairs’ sub-committee meeting at which the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association (NMEDA) testified that the VA racked up nearly 4,000 late invoices worth more than $34 million. At that time, the average invoice was 271 days past due.
Gallego said late payments are making it more diffi- cult for mobility dealers to continue to serve disabled veterans. He added, “The Prompt Payment Act requires federal agencies to pay a vendor’s valid and proper invoice on time and typically within 30 days.”
Gallego asked Lawrence to respond with information on the current backlog of dealer invoices and their value; why the backlog is ongoing; and what the VBA is doing to address the backlog. m
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8 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 | MOBILITY MANAGEMENT
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