WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Chairman Matt Rosendale (MT-02) of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Technology Modernization released the following statement after voting against H.R. 8371 - The Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act.
“The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee ignored regular order with this legislation which, by uniparty design, prohibited scrutiny and debate on the final product. That decision spearheaded a bad process for passing this bill which resulted in an unacceptable final product for our veterans. When a uniparty agreement comes together overnight, like it did with the Dole Act, it means a small group of individuals negotiated it and the American people – and in this case our nation’s heroes – get the short straw.
“Second, the Dole Act includes section 303, which codifies the current illegal practice of the VA using taxpayer funds to pay benefits to same-sex spouses and cohabitating individuals who never served.
“Moreover, this bill ignored years of bipartisan work focused on requiring Oracle Cerner to fix its EHR System, that has resulted in veteran deaths, before it could be expanded to new VA Medical Centers and the company can continue to collect on its multibillion-dollar contract. Instead of being held accountable, Oracle Cerner bought and bullied their way into getting this bill passed without their company being scrutinized and now veterans will have to pay the price,” said Chairman Rosendale.
Background:
- On July 22, 2024, Chairman Rosendale exposed the failures of Oracle Cerner’s EHR systems at Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in a Subcommittee on Technology Modernization hearing.
- On June 7, 2024, Chairman Rosendale highlighted the failure of Oracle Cerner’s unreliable EHR systems at VA medical centers, as mentioned by Bloomberg’s Brody Ford.
- On May 15, 2024, Chairman Rosendale again sounded the alarm on Oracle Cerner focusing more on buying off politicians than providing quality software for VA medical centers.
- On February 15, 2024, Chairman Rosendale held a hearing for the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, exposing the corruption by Oracle Cerner and their attempt to lobby politicians instead of fixing their software.
- On December 1, 2023, Chairman Rosendale cosponsored the EHR Program RESET Act of 2023.
- On November 15, 2023, Chairman Rosendale hosted a Technology Modernization Subcommittee hearing titled “Electronic Health Record Modernization Deep Dive: System Uptime.”
- On April 21, 2023, the VA extended its pause implementing the Oracle Cerner electronic health record (EHR) at additional VA medical centers as a result of Chairman Rosendale’s nonstop efforts on this issue.
- On March 7, 2023, Chairman Rosendale hosted a Technology Modernization Subcommittee hearing titled “Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture.”
- On January 31, 2023, Chairman Rosendale introduced the VA Electronic Health Record Modernization Termination Act, which would:
- Gradually wind down the Oracle Cerner contract by preventing the Secretary from exercising any options on Oracle Cerner’s contract.
- Abolish the Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office.
- Transfer remaining activities to the Veterans Health Administration or Office of Information and Technology.
- Revert all medical centers using the Oracle Cerner EHR to VA’s existing EHR platform: the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture.
