Modernization
VA needs to better plan appointment scheduling modernization, watchdog says
The Government Accountability Office said VA “has not yet determined how the modernized and updated products used for scheduling will interface and be used to pull and combine the data” from its current VistA electronic health record system and the new Oracle Health software.
Democrats press Palantir about reported creation of IRS ‘mega-database’
The possible creation of a shareable, governmentwide database of Americans’ personal information would be a “surveillance nightmare,” 10 House and Senate Democrats wrote in a letter to the tech company.
VA official touts progress on EHR modernization project
The agency is undertaking “a no-fail mission to deliver a Federal EHR at every VA medical center by 2031,” VA Deputy Secretary Paul Lawrence said.
Workforce cuts could complicate IRS goal to modernize in the next two years
Agency leaders say they want to complete the “vast majority” of its modernization efforts within the next couple of years.
Draft proposal looks to put EHR reform measures back on the table
Draft legislation put forward by GOP members of the House Veterans’ Affairs panel reconsiders EHR oversight and governance proposals that were removed from the Dole Act before it was signed into law in January.
Omni Federal awarded $427M background check IT modernization contract
The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency sought a managed service provider amid ongoing efforts to enroll all federal employees in continuous vetting.
Trump administration debuts permitting modernization plan, even as staff cuts could jeopardize it
The new plan builds on Biden-era work, but how implementation goes during Trump-era workforce reductions remains to be seen.
Trump budget wants agencies to contribute unobligated funds to TMF
Here is what the budget request includes for the Technology Modernization Fund, Federal Citizen Services Fund and more.
Labor cancels unemployment modernization grants for states
The grant dollars — which the agency has been doling out since Congress allocated funding for fraud and access work in 2021 — don’t align with department priorities anymore, Labor says.
House bill wants VA to pilot cloud-based medical supply management system
The bipartisan proposal from Reps. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., would direct the agency to test the system at one VA medical facility before potentially expanding it out further.
VA hopes to use next year’s EHR rollouts to gain momentum for faster deployments
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said VA is hoping to deploy its new EHR system at 20 to 25 new medical facilities in 2027 as it pursues an accelerated deployment timeline.
Sandia labs to undertake $5B construction effort over next decade
Sandia National Laboratories is growing its physical infrastructure to help advance its core national security research efforts, notably radiation environment testing and power source capabilities.
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Consolidating IT systems can lead to over $100M in cost savings, GAO finds
The Government Accountability Office’s latest duplication and overlap report said improved federal IT portfolio management could achieve such savings “by reducing duplicative IT investments and halting or terminating investments, when appropriate.”
Trump administration unveils multi-billion dollar plan to modernize air traffic control system
“To do it in three or four years, we need all of the money up front,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said about the White House’s push to upgrade antiquated air traffic control technologies across the U.S.
Some Republicans question Trump’s IRS budget cuts
The administration has proposed a $2.5 billion cut to the tax agency.
VA must ‘put onus back on Oracle’ to right EHR deployment, secretary says
VA Secretary Doug Collins told lawmakers he’s focused on addressing internal problems “that really caused the initial problems in the rollout.”
GSA pushes full repayment for the Technology Modernization Fund
President Donald Trump first signed the fund into law in 2017.
VA tech panel’s top Democrat worries layoffs will harm EHR rollout
Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Ill., is concerned that staffing vacancies, coupled with the department’s reduction in force plans, will put “more pressure onto the VA to execute on an expedited calendar for implementation” of its new EHR system.
House lawmakers diverge on DOGE but point to bipartisanship on federal tech
Many of the witnesses opted not to discuss DOGE’s high-profile, controversial work on government tech and data during a Tuesday hearing.
VA names 9 medical facilities that will receive new EHR in 2026
The department said it plans to deploy the modernized electronic health record at a total of 13 sites next year following a pause on most rollouts of the software that was instituted in April 2023.
