Particle.news
Get it on Google Play
Download on the App Store
6 ARTICLES
·
last mo.

House Subpoenas Oracle Leaders Over VA’s Expanded $27 Billion EHR Contract

The committee says direct testimony is needed to explain a sudden $17 billion contract ceiling increase, patient-safety failures, plus persistent GAO gaps.

Department of Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary Paul Lawrence testifies before the House Veterans' Affairs Committee on electronic health record modernization on Sept. 2, 2026. (K. Sophie Will/Scoop News Group photo)
Image
Image
Image

Overview

  • The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee voted 19-0 to subpoena Oracle chair Larry Ellison and CEO Mike Sicilia after Oracle declined to testify at a Sept. 2 hearing about the VA electronic health record modernization.
  • VA officials told the committee they raised the Oracle contract ceiling from about $10 billion to roughly $27 billion to cover accelerated deployments and added work, but could not fully explain the cost drivers or negotiation details.
  • GAO officials told lawmakers that auditors have issued 18 recommendations for the program and that 14 remain not fully implemented, citing weak documentation of VA’s schedule and cost estimates.
  • Lawmakers pressed VA on documented patient-safety problems from early deployments, including thousands of incident reports and cases that contributed to a prior pause, and they highlighted ongoing site-level training and workflow issues.
  • VA provided a broader lifecycle estimate of about $37 billion to finish deployments plus roughly $11 billion to sustain the system, raising questions about oversight, who would absorb overruns, and whether Congress will fund the program in FY2027.