Tech Modernization Chairman Barrett Leads Oversight Hearing on Modernizing VA Care Through Artificial Intelligence

Tech Modernization Chairman Barrett Leads Oversight Hearing on Modernizing VA Care Through Artificial Intelligence

Today, Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Mich.), the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization delivered the following opening remarks, as prepared at the start of the subcommittee's oversight hearing to examine how artificial intelligence (AI) could transform healthcare delivery for veterans, streamline Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) services, and improve outcomes for veterans. The hearing will also discuss VA's current and future plans to expand the use of AI - as well as the Trump administration's efforts to reverse Biden-era policies that hindered government agencies abilities to propel forward through tools like AI.

Good morning. The Subcommittee will come to order.

Like many who have worn the uniform and receive VA health care, I know the frustration when the system is slow, the paperwork stacks up, or the technology fails.

That is why this Subcommittee's work is so critical.

It is our duty to ensure VA's technology is efficient and reliable, helping veterans rather than standing in the way of their care.

That brings us to the focus of today's hearing: Artificial Intelligence, or AI.

For some, 'AI' sounds like science fiction, something only computer scientists worry about, or even something scary because it's unknown and not well-understood.

But within VA, AI is already being used today in ways that are making a real difference for veterans.

In fact, GAO's recently released a report highlighting how VA is among the most active adopters of AI, from analyzing medical images and workflows, to creating summary diagnostic reports. The report identified more than 200 reported use-cases across the system.

In clinical care, AI can help doctors detect cancer earlier and identify warning signs of heart disease before a crisis occurs.

A recent study led by VA researchers at the VA Long Beach Healthcare System showed how AI can enable providers to detect the risk of calcium buildup in heart arteries.

This new technology could give providers the chance to prevent heart attacks rather than respond to them.

AI is also being used to enhance mental health care, and one of the greatest challenges we face as a nation remains veteran suicide.

In 2017, VA launched the REACH-VET program. This program used an AI model to help identify a very small group of veterans who are at the greatest risk of suicide.

The results were promising: This program helped VA step in early, guiding veterans to the care before crisis strikes.

And it is not just about medical breakthroughs. AI is also helping doctors and nurses relieve the day-to-day burden of paperwork.

The most common complaint from providers is that they spend too much time filling out forms and not enough time taking care of their patients.

VA is exploring AI tools like "ambient scribes" which can listen to a provider's conversation with a patient and automatically create a clean, accurate medical note.

On average, this saves providers two or three hours a week.

Now multiply that across thousands of staff, and it means more time spent caring for veterans and less time staring at a computer screen.

The promise of AI is real. But I want to be clear: our job here is not to applaud the promise.

It is to make sure AI is being used responsibly, safely, and transparently.

Every great innovation comes with risks, and AI is no exception.

If the data is biased, the results can be unfair.

If safeguards are weak, privacy is compromised.

And if the systems are not carefully monitored, mistakes could harm the very people we are trying to protect.

That's why the governance of AI matters.

VA has been one of the first agencies in government to set up a framework for how AI should be reviewed and approved.

By law, VA already has some of the strongest privacy protections in government and those protections extend directly to AI technology.

Veterans' health and benefits data cannot be used by vendors for other purposes, period.

Veterans deserve to know when AI is being used in their care.

They deserve to know that the technology has been tested and that it is working for them, not against them.

Congress deserves to see evidence that taxpayer dollars are being well spent.

I see today's hearing as an opportunity to highlight what is working, to dig into what still needs improvement, and to set clear expectations for the road ahead.

AI does not and will not replace doctors, nurses, nor the human touch that every veteran deserves when receiving their care.

If done right, AI can give clinicians another tool in their toolbox-helping them focus more on patient care and, ultimately, on saving lives.

We need to find the balance between moving efficiently enough to give veterans the benefits of innovation, and cautiously enough to make sure no veteran is put at risk.

Our veterans should never be guinea pigs for untested technology. But they should also not be denied the benefits of safe and proven innovations.

This Subcommittee will hold VA to that standard, and I intend to make sure we get it right.

This is not about technology, it's about trust. Veterans gave this nation their trust through their service.

When they turn to the VA, they deserve to know that trust will be given back and honored.

And it is our duty to make sure that trust is never broken.

With that, I yield to Ranking Member Budzinski for her opening state

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