The Veterans’ Affairs Administration pulled the plug this month on a Biden-era initiative to supply vibrators to female vets.
Lawmakers and watchdogs says it’s only the latest out-of-touch proposal from the free-spending agency.
The off-the-shelf machines – called “Clitoral Therapy Devices” – were for the “clinical needs of impaired patient population” getting VA care, according to a government bid proposal reviewed by The Post.
The so-called CTDs had to be FDA-approved, operate on AAA batteries, and be “hand-held for female sexual dysfunction,” and small businesses were given an edge in fulfilling the contract, according to nationwide solicitations the VA issued in 2024 and reupped last July.
But the feds suddenly zapped the bidding last week. A May 6 document states that after “careful consideration it has been determined by the Government not to award a CTD contract.”
The document gave no reason for hitting the pause button, and neither did a VA spokesman contacted by The Post.
The solicitation provided no dollar value for the contract, but devices the VA touted on its site go for $359 each.
“I’m a little surprised at that one,” said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.). “But then again I’m not surprised. And I’m afraid to Google it – on the record.”
House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) told The Post, “Every contract that VA solicits should principally benefit the veterans VA was created to serve while still protecting the taxpayers’ investment in services.” He said VA Secretary Doug Collins “inherited a mess from the Biden administration, and I know he is working day in and day out – alongside Congress – to review all of VA’s operations.”
Bost said he and his colleagues were working to ensure “there is congressional oversight of acquisitions prior to award, including prosthetic appliances and surgical implants.”
A VA said the cancellation doesn’t mean the feds can’t initiate “micro-purchases” of sex toys if clinicians at VA facilities find a need.
That didn’t satisfy one critic.
“This decision is a perfect example of how the woke civilian culture has infected military thinking,” said the military analyst. “The VA doesn’t need to get involved in minutia of every veteran’s problems. Perhaps some things are better left to the imagination and Amazon.”
The agency on its site writes about a “whole-person approach to sexual health,” and talks up sexual health devices “to reduce pain and improve arousal.”
Language on “Sexual health devices” states that it “includes tools such as vaginal dilators or the EROS clitoral therapy device to reduce pain and improve arousal,” and can help women recover from trauma and surgery.
A National Institutes of Health 2000 article on FDA approval of the devices states the prescription-only device uses a small vacuum pump that applies “gentle suction to the region [to] increase blood flow, aiding in sexual arousal.”
Additional reporting by David Spector
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