John Plahovinsak
Recently, I gained access to a December 18, 2023 letter sent by Representative Mike Bost, who is the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough.
The correspondence stated that the Digital G.I. Bill (DGIB) modernization project “is hanging by a thread and is on the cusp of being added to the heap of past failures.”
The House Committee had sent letters to the VA on July 14th, August 17th, October 26th and October 30th of 2023 and have not received any encouraging news concerning the DGIB modernization.
According to Congressman Bost’s correspondence, the DGIB was an “ambitious and long overdue effort to streamline processing of veterans’ education benefits, institute automation, retire outmoded legacy systems and add capabilities in a rapid, cost-effective fashion.”
On March 11, 2021, the VA finally signed a contract with Accenture Federal Services to build a new platform to centralize a Digital GI Bill-related benefits processing.
The intent was to ease the communications between the government, schools, and veterans for the educational benefits the veterans have earned.
In 2017, legislation was passed by Congress requiring an update to the manner veterans can receive tuition and other benefits for higher education. The educational benefits stem from the GI Bill which was passed during World War II.
It was envisioned, according to a VA press release, that the new “platform will enable VA to call, email or text and chat with GI Bill beneficiaries veterans, grant the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) immediate access to beneficiary records and respond to questions from colleges and universities instantaneously.”
On July 13, 2023, Executive Director of the Education Service VBA Joseph Garcia, attempted to explain the DGIB’s technical problems to the House Committee. The VA, at a September House Hearing, submitted a new project schedule with the completion date moved from 2024 to 2026.
The new completion date required a new renegotiated contract, which the VA had promised, would be in place by November 30, 2023. On November 30, 2023, the VA signed a 30-day contract extension with Accenture.
The December 30, 2023 contact deadline has passed, but I have not found any information that the VA and Accenture have signed a new contract.
According to Congressman Bost, the Digital G.I. Bill modernization has expended over $750,000 million over the last three (3) years. Yet, Congress still has not received an updated life cost estimate from either the VA or the contractor. The high-end estimate may exceed over $2.38 billion, according to the Congressman’s letter.
My Opinion: According to the VBA, over 200,000 veterans leave the military every year and transition into civilian life. Currently, over 825,000 veterans, and their beneficiaries, are using G.I. Bill benefits.
The G.I. Bill Program is an important program and a cornerstone for veterans transitioning into the civilian world. The DGIB modernization project was started in 2017, yet Congress still has many questions whether it will succeed or fail.
A few of Congressman Bost’s concerns are: “Why has progress stalled? What exactly does the contract renegotiation seek to fix? When will these changes happen? When does it become too late to salvage the schedule?”
The VA has not been forthcoming with Congress in attempting to address any of these unanswered questions.
For example, the VA has failed to provide to Congress the requested contract documents, even when Congress asked for them on July 14th and October 30th of 2023. These two (2) requests, according to Bost, “have been ignored” by the VA.
House Chairman Bost’s December 18th letter is concise and right to the point.
“This project is a disappointing example in a long line of disappointing examples of mismanagement, contractors that perform disastrous work but continue to get paid, lack of accountability, and front-line employees who bear the brunt.”
I agree with Congressman Bost that “the DGIB system has been stuck in a half-complete status throughout this year while its error-ridden automation has often impeded, rather than helped, VA Education Service employees do their job.”
Both Congressmen Matt Rosendale (House Chairman of the Technology Modernization Committee) and Bost have requested all the DGIB contract documents from the VA, starting in July of 2023. They feel that their requests “have been ignored.”
Ironically, on July 13, 2023, Executive Director Joseph Garcia stated, “VA looks forward to continued opportunities to work with Congress to address Veterans’ concerns and provide a better GI Bill experience.”
“VA appreciates the support of these Committees as VA continues its effort to modernize VA educational assistance programs,” concluded Garcia in his testimony to the House Veterans Affairs Committee Hearing.
It appears that this attempt at a Digital GI Bill is a failure and over $750,000 million taxpayers’ dollars have been wasted! It may be better to cut our losses now instead of dumping another $750,000 million down the drain!
BioSketch: John Plahovinsak is a retired 32-year Army veteran, who served from 1967 to 1999. He had used thirty-three (33) months of his G.I. Bill benefits (back in the 1970’s) to complete his educational degree. He is the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Adjutant of DAV Chapter #63 (Clermont County) and can be reached at: plahovinsak@msn.com.