WATCH: Barrett Leads Oversight Hearing to Ensure Digital VA Systems Help Veterans Get Their Education Benefits

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Tom Barrett (MI-07) today led a joint oversight hearing of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization and Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity to review the ongoing implementation of the Digital G.I. Bill. Barrett and his colleagues questioned and heard testimony from Department of Veterans Affairs officials, technology vendors, and veteran advocates about the delays and bloated costs of the VA's digital system for delivering education and housing benefits to veterans.

Barrett highlighted the need to reform the VA's acquisition process for hiring contractors and securing technology in order to reduce costs and delays. Barrett's Acquisition Reform and Cost Assessment (ARCA) Act (H.R. 6833) would do just that by restructuring the currently disjointed acquisition and contracting processes under a newly established Office of Acquisition. It would also strengthen internal checks to prevent waste and fraud.

Below are highlights from Barrett's remarks.

"The Digital G.I. Bill contract was awarded five years ago in 2021. It was expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Today, that cost has more than doubled, with the full life-cycle price now reaching into the billions. Meanwhile, veterans are missing housing payments; we've seen delays that have been unnecessary. Schools are being left in the dark without clear guidance. … This is not about a single technical error; it's an accumulation of multiple errors. It is about leadership decisions [and] contracting strategy, and it ties back to a lack of accountability. The benefits system itself should never become a barrier to the benefits they are set to give.

"Veterans earned the G.I. Bill through years of service and sacrifice. They should not have to re-earn it by waiting in call queues, navigating backlogs, or praying the system works this time, or contacting their member of Congress to work through the problem with them. Today's hearing is about understanding what went wrong and just as importantly, what must change going forward, because this problem is not unique to the Digital G.I. Bill. Across the entire department, large technology programs continue to struggle under vague requirements, weak oversight, [and] contracts that balloon and cost taxpayers more while delaying the delivery of VA services to our veterans.

"When accountability is unclear, the costs always end up going up. Schedules slip and get delayed. And the veterans and their families these systems are meant to serve pay the price. That is why this hearing is also about acquisition reform. If we don't fix how these systems are procured and awarded, we'll repeat the same mistakes at the expense of veterans and taxpayers."

Click hereto watch the full committee hearing.

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