Spending and workforce cuts will harm VA’s modernization work, Democrats say

Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., said cuts across VA are forcing the department “to decide between keeping staff on the floor, and investing in expensive equipment that may sit idle without enough personnel to operate it.”

Democrats on the House panel overseeing the Department of Veterans Affairs used a Tuesday hearing on biomedical innovation to voice serious concerns that proposed spending and staffing cuts at the VA would impact the department’s ability to effectively modernize and operate its IT systems. 

The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing included witnesses from several private sector companies who were there to discuss their healthcare-focused tech solutions. Democrats like Illinois Rep. Delia Ramirez, however, criticized the discussion as feeling like “a sales pitch instead of a real conversation about how we modernize the VA in order to provide the highest quality of care for our veterans.”

The hearing came after VA Secretary Doug Collins said ...