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RANKING MEMBER CORRINE BROWN Opening Statement House Veterans’ Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Hearing on Information Technology May 11, 2000
Mr. Chairman, information technology is complex, rapidly changing, and seems to require ever larger investments every year. We are attracted – sometimes even blinded – by its potential benefits. Unfortunately, at times, information technology evolves faster than agency cultures and management mindsets are able to adjust. This morning, we’ll hear the General Accounting Office and Inspector General tell about a decade of unfulfilled promises, missed deadlines, and wrong turns that have cost taxpayers millions of dollars. On a positive note, they also will report that the Department of Veterans Affairs is making limited progress and that there are glimmers of hope for better results if their various recommendations are followed. The VA’s presentation – as you would expect – will be forward looking; telling us about their new organizational structures, planning systems, and initiatives. VA’s stated objective – like mine – is to find new ways of utilizing information technology as a tool to improve service to veterans. On January 1, 2000, VA proved that – with a little oversight incentive from this Subcommittee – it could meet difficult IT challenges successfully. I applaud VA’s Year 2000 rollover effort and its architect, Harold Gracey. A lot of valuable lessons were learned from VA’s Y2K preparation, and a major byproduct of success was program credibility. Because Mr. Gracey did such a fine job of guiding VA through the rollover, I was sorry to learn that he will be leaving at the end of this month. I wish him well. His leadership over the last 23 months as Acting Chief Information Officer has been recognized throughout the industry and has set a stable course for the Department. After many years of wrong turns and wasted efforts, Moses, too, could only see the Promised Land from the mountaintop and had to leave it to his successor to get his people there. Mr. Chairman, although I am concerned about the broad IT issues, like information security and integrated architecture, I also am encouraged with the positive direction of VA’s capital planning and investment process. My interest today, however, is in the details represented by projects like the data center consolidation and VETSNET. Responses to my questions about these details will give me a measure of VA’s current institutional culture and its decision-making process. The environment for 21st century IT decision-making is a dynamic one, with rapid ground shifts and large sea changes. How well VA officials are able to meet the management challenges of this new way of doing business can only be assessed over time. Today’s hearing is just the first in what promises to be a series of hearings extending beyond the 106th Congress – no matter which party is in control. Mr. Chairman, the future of veteran services delivery depends on how well VA responds to oversight inquiries like this. Back to Witness List |