Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins now faces a written demand from Congress's top veterans-panel Democrats to justify why the department's Oracle Health electronic health record contract can grow by $17 billion, a ceiling increase that would push the program's total contract value to about $27 billion. In an Oct. 6-dated letter made public Oct. 13 and reported by Nextgov/FCW, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., said they had "serious concerns" about the agency's "lack of transparency and cooperation" with Congress on oversight of the EHR overhaul and the contract extension.
Blumenthal is ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee; Takano holds the same post on the House panel. Their letter asks VA to answer 13 written questions and to hand over records the House committee requested in August and never received.
How a $10 Billion Oracle Deal Gained a $17 Billion Ceiling
VA announced in August that it was extending its current 10-year, $10 billion modernization deal with Oracle to include an additional $17 billion ceiling and three one-year option periods, according to Nextgov/FCW. The department disclosed the decision in an award notice posted on SAM.gov, a move that surprised lawmakers from both parties.
VA has rested its explanation on a single phrase. The two ranking members wrote that "VA's citation of 'unanticipated complexities' as the rationale for nearly tripling the original contract remains unexplained."
The House Veterans' Affairs Committee tried to get that explanation on Aug. 27. Its request sought all relevant communications between VA and Oracle and "documentation sufficient to explain the need for the increase, including detailed descriptions of the 'unanticipated complexities,' and any related cost analysis or determination, including, but not limited to, the price negotiation memorandum." According to the Blumenthal-Takano letter, VA did not respond.
The 13 questions include how VA arrived at the new $27 billion total contract ceiling and whether officials will commit to obtaining a third-party total lifecycle cost estimate for the project. The lawmakers also asked whether VA knew when it signed the original contract that the software did not comply with the federal accessibility requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and how it plans to fix that gap.
What VA Told the House About the $17 Billion
VA Deputy Secretary Paul Lawrence defended the ceiling increase at a Sept. 2 House Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing. Federal News Network reported that Lawrence said the $17 billion was not necessarily all going to Oracle, and that VA had asked Oracle for a proposal covering the cost of full deployment through 2031.
"The ceiling for their [current] contract was expiring. We would have no legal document to do business with them without extending the ceiling of their contract," Lawrence said.
He added that because the contract is time-and-materials, each task will be negotiated, and the $17 billion is the most VA would spend, not a guaranteed amount. Lawrence put the cost of the entire rollout and sustainment at $48 billion and said he did not expect VA to return to Congress for more money.
His answers on how VA settled on the number satisfied few members. When Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, asked for details of VA's conversation with Oracle about why another $17 billion was needed, Lawrence replied, "I cannot give you that information." Military Times reported that Lawrence said he was not involved in the negotiations and could not explain the specific basis for Oracle's proposal or how much VA negotiated down from Oracle's request. He also acknowledged that the $48 billion lifecycle estimate was not an independent assessment.
Why Lawmakers Subpoenaed Oracle's Ellison and Sicilia
Oracle accepted Takano's invitation to testify on Aug. 26, then withdrew a day later, citing "time constraints and the two panel structure," according to Federal News Network. The committee responded by voting 19-0 to subpoena Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison and CEO Mike Sicilia.
Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., who offered the motion, framed it in budget terms: "When the vendor responsible for a taxpayer-funded contract going from $10 billion to roughly $27 billion will not sit at this table and answer our questions, all of us are being prevented from doing our oversight duties."
Takano pointed to Oracle's 2022 testimony, in which he said the company told the committee it was "prepared to bear those costs" if there were cost overruns. "Why does Oracle need $17 billion more to get the job done when this program has already dragged on for eight years?" Takano asked.
The Senate side has opened its own front. Blumenthal and six other Democrats on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee wrote Ellison and Sicilia on Sept. 23, demanding documents and a full itemization of the "unanticipated complexities," and gave Oracle until Oct. 23 to respond, Military Times reported. The senators also asked Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kan., to hold a full committee hearing on the program's costs, delays and patient-safety concerns.
Where the Oracle EHR Rollout Stands
The fight over the ceiling comes as VA accelerates deployments after freezing most rollouts in April 2023. The department has implemented the Oracle EHR at 11 medical facilities so far in 2026, plans two more go-lives in Alaska and Ohio before year-end, and intends to finish all deployments in 2031, according to Nextgov/FCW.
The Government Accountability Office has also told lawmakers that VA had not provided an updated cost estimate or enough documentation to judge whether its plans followed best practices, Military Times reported. As of August, VA had not fully implemented 14 of GAO's 18 EHR modernization recommendations, including 12 priority recommendations.
What It Means for Contractors
The $17 billion is a ceiling, not an obligation. Because the vehicle is time-and-materials and each task will be negotiated, the dollars that actually flow, to Oracle and to any other firms supporting deployment, training and sustainment, depend on task-level negotiations that Congress now wants to see. Lawrence's testimony that the money is not necessarily all going to Oracle suggests other work may be priced under the same ceiling.
Contractors on the EHR program should expect closer scrutiny of pricing. The House has asked for VA's price negotiation memorandum, and both ranking members want an independent lifecycle cost estimate. A third-party estimate that diverges from VA's $48 billion figure could shape future task orders and option exercises.
The broader lesson concerns how the increase came to light. A $17 billion ceiling change that surfaced through a SAM.gov award notice has drawn a unanimous House committee subpoena vote and letters from Democrats in both chambers. The next markers are Oracle's Oct. 23 deadline to answer the Senate Democrats and whether Ellison and Sicilia appear before the House panel.
