The VA's new medical records system has gone haywire. Congress is alarmed

The Veterans Affairs Department’s fumbling effort to replace its decadesold electronic health records system has strained its relationship with Congress to the breaking point.

Anger about the project — billions over budget, tied to at least four veterans’ deaths, and now, on pause — is responsible for a spate of bill introductions, some aiming to shut the project down, others to boost oversight and accountability. The problems also led Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley to hold up a confirmation vote on President Joe Biden’s nominee for one of the VA’s top posts.

Key lawmakers, including Senate Veterans Affairs Chair Jon Tester (D-Mont.), are trying to give the VA one more try to get it right after the department halted the system rollout this spring and renegotiated its contract with the vendor, Oracle Cerner.

“Modernization of the electronic health record is not optional — one way or another it has to be done,” Tester told POLITICO. “I will keep demanding results.”