Committee presses VA on potential effects of GSA consolidation of federal IT purchases

Ranking Member Basinski and several committee members raised concerns about a presidential executive order directing the General Services Administration to consolidate common goods and IT procurement for the federal government.

Basinski said she supported efficiency but warned that centralized procurement could create “downstream disasters” if GSA did not account for VA’s mission‑specific software needs. She noted that “most of the software used at VA is not commercial off the shelf” and cautioned that removing VA oversight could increase spending on software that does not meet veterans’ needs.

Don Carter, VA’s Executive Director for Contract and Operations Management, said VA has engaged in category management discussions with GSA in the past year and will “support” any plan that provides best value, but that VA will continue to produce business cases and pursue value‑based contracting. Carol Harris of GAO advised that commodity IT (Microsoft, Adobe, Salesforce) is where economies of scale are likely to be real, while implementation details for mission‑specific software will determine whether consolidation is beneficial.

Committee members asked whether GSA is prepared to absorb VA’s IT workload and whether GSA’s own staffing and budget decisions affect its capacity. VA officials said they had not yet walked through a specific GSA takeover plan and would need to review details before agreeing to changes. Members requested follow‑up from VA on its assessment of any proposed GSA consolidation and the possible effects on VA procurement timelines and mission software.