Lawmakers Demand Answers from Department of Veterans Affairs On Troubled Electronic Records Upgrade
Congressional leaders are demanding explanations from the VA for a massive contract increase that adds billions of dollars to an overhaul of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ computer systems. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Representative Mark Takano of California sent a letter on October 6, 2026, to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, raising concerns about the VA’s lack of transparency and cooperation.
Lawmakers Demand Answers from Department of Veterans Affairs
Blumenthal sits as ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Takano serves as ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Both demand proof to justify the department’s move to expand its electronic health record modernization agreement with Oracle Health by $17 billion, raising the price tag to $27 billion.
The original arrangement set a 10-year term worth $10 billion. In August, officials published an award notice on the federal procurement website SAM.gov. That notice describes the $17 billion addition and three one-year options, a move that surprised legislators from both parties.
Lawmakers say the department made vague claims to justify the extra $17 billion. “VA’s citation of ‘unanticipated complexities’ as the rationale for nearly tripling the original contract remains unexplained.”
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Years of Failure
The system expansion comes after years of failed upgrades at the VA. The federal agency first launched the software in 2020 at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Washington. Glitches and delays followed.
The agency paused nationwide deployments in April 2023, and even if it were fully underway, the project won’t finish anytime soon; projections for installations across 164 VA medical centers run to 2031.
Lawmakers criticized the contract modification and voted 19-0 to issue subpoenas for Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison and Oracle CEO Mike Sicilia.
The October 6, 2026 letter contains 13 formal inquiries. The inquiries focus on procurement calculations behind the $27 billion ceiling. The lawmakers ask whether officials intend to hire an independent party to complete a total lifecycle cost review.
Violations of Federal Law?
Accessibility problems represent another hurdle for the platform. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires federal agencies to make electronic equipment and information technology accessible to people with disabilities; current and former department officials have gone on the record noting Oracle Health software fails to meet those federal standards.
The lawmakers asked Collins to state whether the department knew about Section 508 accessibility failures when staff signed the initial contract. They also demanded a concrete plan explaining how agency leadership plans to bring the software into compliance with accessibility laws going forward. This is a developing story.
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About the author
Editor-in-Chief Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
