WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs – led a bipartisan, bicameral group of leaders from the Senate and House Veterans’ Affairs and Appropriations Committees in requesting the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) submit an updated schedule and cost estimate to Congress for the Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program.

Sen. Moran was joined by Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman and Ranking Member – Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) – House and Senate Appropriations Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee leadership – Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.).

VA recently announced an accelerated deployment schedule of the EHRM program that includes nine additional VA medical centers in 2026 as part of its effort to restart the stalled modernization program. The members’ request follows a Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommendation to produce an updated cost estimate for EHRM before moving forward with the accelerated deployment schedule.

“The need for a cost estimate is further underscored by practical necessity,” wrote the members. “Without a reliable cost estimate, VA risks budget overruns, schedule delays, and diminished congressional trust. Compliance with these laws, directives, and GAO recommendations is a critical step to ensuring EHRM’s success and accountability.”

In 2019, the program was initially estimated to cost $16.1 billion over a decade. An independent cost estimate conducted by the Institute for Defense Analysis in October 2021 estimated the project to cost up to $50 billion. After lifting a pause that was put in place on the program in April 2023, VA has not yet provided Congress with an updated cost estimate for EHRM as anticipated by a framework of federal laws and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directives governing major acquisition programs.

The full letter can be found HERE and below.

Dear Secretary Collins,

I write to follow up on the recent news regarding the accelerated fielding plan for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program and request an updated schedule and cost estimate for EHRM by September 30, 2025, before fielding resumes.

VA is legally and administratively required to provide a cost estimate for EHRM due to a framework of federal laws and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directives governing major acquisition programs. The Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-106) requires that executive agencies, including VA, adhere to OMB processes to evaluate the risks and results of all major capital investments for information systems, to include the projected and actual costs, benefits, and risks associated with the investments. OMB Circular A-11 explicitly requires life cycle cost estimates for major systems like EHRM to support planning, budgeting, oversight, and transparency. Additional OMB directives, such as Circular A-130 and Memorandum M-15-14 under the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (P.L. 113-291), reinforce that major IT programs must have validated cost estimates to secure budget approval and Chief Information Officer oversight. The Federal Acquisition Regulation operationalizes these mandates by requiring cost analysis for acquisition planning. These requirements ensure that the VA can manage taxpayer funds responsibly and that EHRM is aligned with its mission to improve veteran health care.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has repeatedly recommended that VA develop and update cost estimates for EHRM before proceeding further, highlighting deficiencies in the Department’s financial planning related to this program. In a March 2025 GAO report entitled, Electronic Health Records: VA Making Incremental Improvements in New System but Needs Updated Cost Estimate and Schedule, GAO explicitly recommended that VA "update the EHRM’s modernization life cycle cost estimate to reflect the pause and subsequent changes," citing a 20-month deployment halt that rendered prior estimates obsolete. Additionally, numerous VA Inspector General reports have implicitly criticized the lack of dependable cost data for EHRM, urging better oversight that presupposes updated estimates. These recommendations collectively emphasize that, without a current cost estimate, VA cannot justify – and Congress cannot have confidence in - continued EHRM investment or viability.

The need for a cost estimate is further underscored by practical necessity. Without a reliable cost estimate, VA risks budget overruns, schedule delays, and diminished congressional trust. Compliance with these laws, directives, and GAO recommendations is a critical step to ensuring EHRM’s success and accountability.

To that end, please provide a detailed schedule and a cost estimate for EHRM before September 30^th, 2025. GAO’s Cost Estimating Guide provides a best-practice benchmark. This request aligns with persistent calls for transparency and accountability, ensuring that Congress can fully assess EHRM’s financial and operational readiness to safeguard veterans’ and taxpayers’ interests before further rollouts begin.

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