VA’s Digital GI Bill Program Disaster: How Poor Planning is Hurting Veterans and What Needs to Change
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has once again come under fire for its poor planning and mismanagement, this time with its Digital GI Bill program IT project.
Initially budgeted for $453 million, the project’s cost has ballooned to $932 million.
A report by the Office of Inspector General revealed the 10-year contract lacked precise requirements with “unrealistic expectations.” Best practices like a master schedule were not followed, and when such a schedule was created, it was not regularly shared. The project was plagued by “insufficient planning.” The contract was developed without consulting staff with “required technical expertise.”
It sounds like the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing. The platform was supposed to replace 12 legacy systems and be fully operational by April 2024. Due to the gross failures by the agency, the program’s completion will be severely delayed.
Back in 2013, I spoke out about VA boasting to Congress about its then-new GI Bill IT system – it worked right half the time – to the tune of $263 million. Does that make sense? Why would you boast about a bloated, poorly working IT platform? VA did.
A decade later, we are talking a Digital GI Bill platform that will cost taxpayers nearly a billion dollars, more than twice what was originally contracted. Will this program work right at least half the time, like in 2013?
READ: Broken GI Bill SYstem Works Right Half The Time
Continued gross oversight of the GI Bill program directly impacts the veterans who depend on these benefits for their education and future. Veterans deserve better, and this failure raises critical concerns about the VA’s ability to manage essential programs effectively.
As a veteran rights attorney, I recognize that this is more than just a budgeting issue—it is a failure that affects the real lives of veterans across the country.
Veterans who rely on the GI Bill to pursue higher education are now facing unnecessary delays and obstacles due to poor planning at the VA. It’s time to shine a light on these issues and hold those responsible accountable while ensuring veterans have the support they need to succeed in civilian life.
What Digital GI Bill Platform Is For
In 2022, VA announced its plans to consolidate multiple legacy IT systems in a modernization initiative consistent with the agency’s Vision for Digital Transformation.
The agency said the new platform would help veterans, family members, and caregivers by providing:
- Near real-time processing of eligibility and enrollments, one-stop access to records and benefits information, and delivery of world-class customer and financial services
- Increased accuracy, efficiency, and timeliness of claims processing
- Timely and accurate delivery of payments, as well as first-contact resolution
- Direct communication through means that may include email, phone, text, and chat for on-the-spot service
Too bad it’s not panning out as planned. Taxpayers are on the hook, while veterans are still burdened using antiquated systems to access their benefits.
VA Mismanagement of Digital GI Bill Project
The VA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently released a report detailing how the Digital GI Bill project’s budget more than doubled due to poor project management.
According to the report, the VA “failed to adequately manage scope, cost, and schedule,” leading to significant financial overruns and delays in providing critical benefits to veterans. This mismanagement highlights a disturbing trend of inefficiency within the VA when it comes to implementing large-scale projects meant to serve those who have served.
For veterans, these failures have real consequences. Delays in the rollout of the Digital GI Bill mean veterans are facing barriers to accessing the educational benefits they were promised. This is unacceptable, especially when veterans depend on these benefits to pursue higher education and secure better employment opportunities after their service. Veterans have already done their part for the country; it’s time for the VA to do its part for them.
The Real Impact on Veterans
When the VA fails to deliver on its promises, it’s not just about a blown budget—it’s about the veterans who are directly impacted by these failures.
The GI Bill is a critical lifeline for veterans transitioning into civilian life, providing them with the educational opportunities they need to succeed in new careers. But with the VA’s Digital GI Bill project now delayed and over budget, veterans face unnecessary hurdles that could disrupt their education plans and financial stability.
According to the OIG, the lack of planning caused a “significant delay in the implementation of necessary features.” Veterans who rely on timely disbursement of funds for their tuition, housing, and other education-related expenses are left scrambling to figure out how to make ends meet.
This could deter veterans from pursuing higher education altogether, which would have long-term negative effects on their personal and professional growth.
What Needs to Happen Now
The VA must be held accountable for these failures and implement immediate changes to prevent similar issues in the future. Veterans deserve efficient, reliable access to their GI Bill benefits without delays or administrative complications. One solution is greater oversight and transparency in how the VA manages large-scale IT projects, especially those directly impacting veterans’ benefits.
Furthermore, veterans should not be left to bear the burden of the VA’s incompetence. Congress and veteran advocacy groups must step in to ensure that the VA improves its planning and execution of the Digital GI Bill and other similar programs. It’s also crucial for veterans themselves to speak out about their experiences and demand the benefits they earned.
Conclusion: Veterans Deserve Better
The GI Bill was designed to give veterans the opportunities they deserve after serving their country. The VA’s failure to properly plan and execute the Digital GI Bill project is a direct disservice to those veterans. We must demand accountability and immediate reform to ensure these benefits are delivered on time and without unnecessary complications.
Veterans, policymakers, and advocates must act now to hold the VA accountable and demand the changes needed to improve the GI Bill system. Veterans cannot afford to wait any longer for the benefits they earned through their service, and it’s time for the VA to deliver on its promises.
But what can we do? What is the next step?
Here, the reasonable next step is to flood VA with real complaints about problems veterans are experiencing.
Right now it’s “they lie, you die.” Only way things will change is if it’s “they lie, they die.”
They separate the mental health side of the clinics from the primary care side of the clinic..so if you get fucked on one side there’s still a chance you’ll still go to the other. Pure genius. Send everyone home on UBI. The place is a threat to health and human safety.
Did Obama fix problems at VA? No
Did Trump fix problems at VA? No
Did Biden fix problems at VA? No
Is it reasonable to think anyone will come along and fix problems at VA including Congress or the courts? No
Send everyone home on UBI and wrap it up. It’s a bad heathcare model and it will never succeed. Get insurance program going!
My VA psychologist said that Jesus was a delusional narcissist who went to his own death to feed his insatiable ego. She said I was a chip off the old block if I believed that fiction was fact. That has to be some kind of First Amendment violation. My God, they wipe their ass with the Constitution and civil rights in there. They’re super citizens with immunity!
VHA enforcing heathcare as a luxury service in and USA. Don’t be temporarily fooled. If you don’t pay for it, you aren’t getting it. There’s more to heathcare than blood tests, piss tests, and nut houses. Think critically and don’t let them blow smoke up your ass. When was the last time someone at VA asked you about services that you’d like to see? That would be pouring salt into your wounds (pun intended.)
The dishonest federal agents at VA mental health will write down everything they can to frame whatever it is they’re trying to frame. Some of them will write down all bad shit into your notes and ignore anything positive to paint you as some wacko or dangerous person. The people who do that should be arrested or worse. The mother fuckers are supposed to be helpers and advocates.. not character assassins and liars. I’ll never tell them shit again. I left!
How can they claim that VA is cheaper when you’re hiring hundreds of thousands of people with taxpayer money to do things that doctors in the community already do? And at VHA they’re paying for medical supplies on top of that. How is it not cheaper and more effective to just pay bills instead? The answer is that they want to keep doing something just to do it with that particular jobs program AND they want to maintain a facade while they “save money” denying care. If you need something major done, and it’s not life-threatening at that very moment, they’re not gonna do it. But they will pay a bunch of people to do little shit that wouldn’t cost that much in the community to do and otherwise deny care in many cases. So it’s a bullshit system and I don’t even see how it’s cheaper much less more effective. All I know is that I’d most likely be fixed by now if they weren’t busy blowing money on the people who “work” at VHA. They denied me care for something serious and I left. I’m in poor health because I depended on those mother fuckers now I have to live with my own stupidity.
Eliminate VHA and have an insurance program for veterans! Don’t let them hand everyone that political back and forth over “veterans need the VA and whoever says different is harming vets.” THAT’S BULLSHIT MAN they got too many problems and there’s a better way to do it. Don’t let them hand you that “someone is trying to profit” bullshit either. That would be brought before a court if that happened. As it stands, who can sue the VA easily? Ok then! Veterans have everything to gain from more options. VA can’t even get the best people in there! HELLO!!!
Seen an article the other day that said they were worried about the “lack of ability to track quality of care in the community.” Yeah right. You got quality of care issues all over the place at VA and you don’t do shit! Don’t hand me that shit. Veterans would complain about a community care provider just as quickly as they do the shit heels they hire at VA accept they won’t do shit about the people at VA..most of who are hiding in the basement denying care and sweeping shit under the rug. These people are full of shit!!
so what else is new, we all know Congress knows how screwed up the VA management is yet even with this knowledge and awareness nothing ever changes, until the VA removes idiots like Jon Tester and the VA management staff this will just continue, so where is the real problem? Elected idiots putting more idiots into running the VA at all levels this is not going to change until we all no longer exist, talk,talk talk talk that is all thjat happens