After Trying to Shield Oracle, House Republicans Cave and Back Democrats’ Subpoena

WASHINGTON — Today, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs held an oversight hearing on the Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program. Following the hearing, Ranking Member Mark Takano and Technology Modernization Subcommittee Ranking Member Nikki Budzinski released the following statements:

"Democrats have been demanding real accountability from Oracle and VA while Republicans tried to look the other way. After months of resisting our efforts to hold Oracle and VA accountable, Republicans finally had nowhere left to hide. Faced with Oracle’s refusal to appear before Congress on the EHR program whose price tag has reached $27 billion, nearly triple the original cost estimate, the problem became too big to ignore. After recessing the committee and multiple attempts by Chairman Mike Bost to get Democrats to withdraw their subpoena motion, Republicans ultimately relented and joined Democrats in a vote to support a subpoena motion from Congresswoman Maxine Dexter to compel Larry Ellison and Mike Sicilia of Oracle to appear before Congress.

Veterans and taxpayers deserve clear answers about what they will receive in exchange for a $17 billion increase in Oracle’s contract ceiling. VA and Oracle must demonstrate that veterans will receive the best EHR on the market. Prior to today’s hearing, I sent a letter urging the Chairman to uphold the Committee’s duty to conduct meaningful oversight of this program by requiring the appropriate organizations and accountable officials to participate. Chairman Bost failed to do that today and, in fact, aided Oracle in evading congressional oversight. Veterans and taxpayers deserve better than a hearing designed to allow VA to declare success rather than to subject them to independent review and meaningful oversight. They deserve a committee that is willing to demand real answers—and we're not going to stop asking these questions until they get them."

This $17 billion increase to the EHRM contract brings the total three-year price tag to $27 billion, nearly triple the program's original cost, and VA doesn’t seem to know if this will be the end of it. Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, which holds jurisdiction over the EHRM program, said, “I find it confounding that the Deputy Secretary asserted, under oath, that the $17 billion was not going to Oracle. That is patently false. The documents we were discussing were modifications to Oracle’s contract; therefore, that money cannot go to anyone but Oracle. Following today’s subpoena vote, I look forward to hearing from Larry Ellison and Mike Sicilia why they need to triple their budget and why VA is not even getting Oracle’s “state of the art” software for this $27 billion. Veterans and taxpayers deserve answers about why they’re being asked to prop up one of the richest tech companies in the world.”

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